


Not as Bad as I Seem

by xNinjaGurl50



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Baking Puns, Best Friend Moxiety, Deceit can be a good dad, Dee swears, Dragon Witch - Freeform, Emotional Hurt, Enemies to Friends, Everyone seems to swear, Fighting, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Logan swears too, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Outcast!Patton, PATition to give Pat all the hugs, Parent Deceit Sanders, Pat Needs A Hug, Petition to give Patton all the hugs, Platonic Relationships, Rejection, Roman's Imagination, Roman's Imagination is dangerous, Swearing, Virgil swears also, eventually, poor Patton, sort-of Parental Patceit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2019-10-05 06:23:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 36,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17319650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xNinjaGurl50/pseuds/xNinjaGurl50
Summary: In this AU, Virgil and Patton are swapped in a sense, with Patton as the outcast of the group instead of the happy pappy we all know him to be. This is how he ends up gaining their trust enough to show that he is not as silly and useless as he first seemed to be. This is a pre-videos AU.





	1. Skies Crying

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TessaTheDreamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TessaTheDreamer/gifts).



> This is a continuation/inspiration of TessaTheDreamer’s “Let It Rain”. I thought it was an interesting concept to have Patton as the outcast instead of Virgil in the series, so I have decided to expand upon it. I may also change some of the elements in it to fit what I imagined, but it is still the same concept. This is an all platonic story, of how Patton shows the others that he isn't as bad as he seems ;D. Tags will be updated as I go, and updates may be sporadic. I usually have ideas that never can be completed, but I have confidence in this one... maybe...
> 
> The Thesaurus is my friend :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I have decided to start an audio recording of my book! Yaaayyy! 
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/not-as-bad-as-i-seem-chapter-1-skies-crying

          Patton sighed, resting his head against the window of his room, watching the drops of freezing cold water fall to the earth. His room reacted to his aching heart, darkening and starting to freeze. He pulls his cardigan around him tighter, as if it will admonish the coldness he feels in his heart. It had been years… _years_. And yet the other sides still did not look at him as an equal. It started out fine in the beginning. When Thomas was younger, they all got along swimmingly. Nothing could last forever, though. Something changed around middle school, and suddenly everything was different. No one talked to one another. Everyone looked away, avoiding eye contact or any reason to start up a conversation. Logic had more important things to do. Creativity had a theatre career to pursue, and the imagination at his disposal. Anxiety isolated himself in his room. Patton became lonely.

          It is no secret that the heart needs affection, no matter how Patton loathed it. If he wasn’t so needy for some kind of contact, he might have been fine with the forced isolation from the others. Maybe not the hate thrown his way, he was emotions after all, but he'd be better than he is now. He had no idea what brought up the sudden change in them, but one day they agreed that emotions would get Thomas nowhere. Logan and Roman fought for control over Thomas’s future plans, Roman wanting to go into theatre, while Logan wanted to become a teacher or something of the sort. Patton could never keep track of the Logical trait’s wishes. He ended up giving up even trying when no one would give him a chance. Not even Virgil…

          Tears streamed down his face with the rain. Patton could barely remember the times he got along with Virgil, but he remembered going into the town to explore with him. Outside of the Mind Palace was fashioned as a town for the sides to live in, basically there as make-belief for the sides to play as humans, with hospitals, cafes, schools and fake buildings for fake people to live in. It wasn’t like Roman’s Imagination, instead, it was completely separate from the Side’s control. Conjured up by the host himself-- Thomas.  Patton used to spend a lot of time there with those fake people, but there weren’t many "people" out there. The mind cannot create new faces, it only takes the image of all the people Thomas has seen in his life. This can lead to problems, seeing as Thomas sometimes can only get glimpses of the faces of some people. This makes most of the "people" blurry, and their personalities clouded and dull due to little to none known about their actual personalities. Not to mention Patton had a sort of feeling whenever he talked to one, that they weren’t real. Their skin was cold, not like the sides. They were robots on an automated system.

          They wouldn’t give Patton the love he desired, they would barely respond to any advances of friendship anyway. If he wanted the care that he so desperately craved, he would need to somehow convince the other sides to actually like them. This was nearly impossible for Patton, as they didn't care enough to even _try_. They didn't care for him, not even bothering to ask for his name when they revealed theirs to the host, Thomas. He paused, the yelling from before stopping as whooshes sound from the real world. The others were finally done screaming at each other, and maybe they came up with a solution to whatever Thomas was dealing with. At least a compromise that would soon be inadequate the next day, causing even more fighting.

          Patton held his breath as he heard the footsteps heading to the common area, the telltale sound of the TV, and some Disney movie playing in the background. Most likely they resolved the argument by agreeing for a movie night. Patton let out a strangled sob, curling himself into a ball. They didn’t even invite him. Didn’t dare to even look at his door that they pushed to the far back of the house,  most likely. Patton was most likely in the back of their minds, repulsed at the  _thought_ of him. Patton knew he was spiraling, but he didn't have it in him to care. Patton let out a louder sob, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. He waited in choked silence to see if anyone heard it. The TV still played downstairs, so he was in the clear. He still kept his hand clamped to his mouth, though. He wouldn’t let them hear him. He wouldn’t give them another way to push him around. A whoosh sounded, signaling someone in his room. He quickly whipped his head to see who dared enter his room. He slumped heavily on seeing who it was.

          “H-Hey Dee…” He choked out, still sobbing. Deceit immediately dropped his usual indifferent persona, rushing to Patton with a concerned glance.

          “Hey, Pat… Bad day?” He sat down next to Patton on the bed, making sure to keep some distance from the emotional trait like a skittish cat. Patton let out a breathy laugh, tears still falling off his chin and onto the stuffed bunny, Mrs. Fluffy Bottom. Dee chuckles at the sight.

          “Stole that from Roman’s room again?” Patton holds on tighter.

          “He doesn't even use it anymore!” Patton protested.

          “Do I have to constantly put it back in his room before he starts looking for it?” At Dee’s words, Patton pulled the stuffed bunny closer, tilting and leaning it away from Deceit, while hissing like a cat. Dee raises his eyebrows, throwing his hands up in a placating manner.

          “Whoa there, didn’t mean to frighten ya there. Only joking. You can keep her.” Patton returned back to normal, turning to look out the window.

          “They ignored me again today…” Dee instantly turns serious, nodding in sympathy at the side as tears well in Patton’s eyes again.

          “Another issue about his emotions, and yet they won’t allow me to _help_ him. I am a side too! I am just as important as them, yet they continually push me away as if I am their enemy! Why can’t they understand that I am just trying to help! I…” Patton suddenly went from anger to sadness as the tears fall from his eyes again. He looked away from Dee, his shoulders drooping.

          “I...I don’t g-get it… I-Is it me? Is it s-something I did to make them h-hate me?” Deceit instantly closed the distance, pulling the small side into his arms as he rocks them side to side, cooing at Patton.

          “No, no honey. It is their fault for not seeing what a great person you are…” Deceit sat with Patton all throughout the night, shushing his cries until he tired himself out. Deceit laid him back on the bed, tucking the miserable side in comfortably.

          His heart went out to the poor side. He didn’t deserve all the hate the others put him through. The poor emotional side just wanted to fit in, to help Thomas in any way possible. He literally had a heart of gold, helping the same sides that treated him immorally. He wished desperately for Patton to get a shot, to show them all he can do. He knew, though... it most likely would never happen. Roman and Logan were too stubborn to see the error of their ways and Virgil... Virgil didn't really care for anything as long as it didn't cause him anxiety. Deceit sank down, still looking at Patton shifting in his sleep, obviously uncomfortable being alone.

          Maybe one day he would get to his goal. Deceit had faith in him.  
 

* * *

* * *

 


	2. Virgil Starts to Notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil starts to notice that not all is right in his semi-happy life. Something fishy is going on, and he didn't care to connect the dots before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is about 11 PM, I have school tomorrow, but I had to write, so second chapter, let's go!
> 
> Edit: Second chapter audiobook!
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-2-virgil-starts-to-notice

          Virgil was vigilant. He prided himself in that thought. He may be a self-deprecating, introverted emo, but he was extremely perceptive to everything in his environment. Which is why he was extremely surprised when he just started to notice things. Well, it wasn’t that he  **didn’t** notice it, he just didn’t care much about it. Until now.

          It happened on some occasions, where he would end up passing out on the couch in the commons when his insomnia kicked in randomly, and he always seemed to end up in his own room. He couldn’t care less, thinking it was likely Roman who did it sometime before Virgil woke up. Of course, Virgil felt it was off, seeing as his back didn’t ache as much as you would expect from spending hours on a couch instead of a bed, but he didn’t really care. He wasn’t harmed, and he was safe in bed. Everything was fine. Until it wasn’t.

          He had spent yet another night on the couch, watching something on the TV that he couldn’t care less about until he drifted off to sleep. He once again woke up in his bed, safe and sound in his dark room. He sighed in exasperation, turning to the clock.  _ 8:32… Great!  _  He thought as he rolled out of bed. He knew he wouldn’t be getting any more sleep, even if he tried. 

          He shrugged on his patchwork hoodie, fixed his eyeshadow, and lurched towards the stairs to the commons. He fixed his slightly mussed hair as he descended, nodding to Logan who sat in an armchair, reading a book and sipping his coffee. The two of them had some sort of agreement, not exactly close but a certain understanding between them. All three of them never really hated each other and could get along by themselves normally without bursting into an argument. There was simply a lot of tension when their host came up in discussions. They were all kind of forced into a sort of bonding time to appease Roman, so they would say they were friends at the very least. Virgil thought of it more as friendship bordering onto acquaintanceship. 

         Virgil rubbed his eyes at the sudden light of the kitchen and stumbled to his coffee, already premade for him. He took a sip, leaning against the counter for a minute, letting the warmth of the coffee seep into his fingers.  _ Black… Like my soul _ . He grins as he shuffles his way to the couch, pulling his phone out to scroll through Tumblr.

         It took him about half an hour to become unsettled by the silence of the house. He looked up from his phone, noticing that Roman wasn’t around. He turned his attention to Logan, raising his eyebrows as he asked, 

         “Hey, where is Prince Un-charming?” Logan sighed, looking up and around before returning his eyes to his book.

         “He spent hours last night trying to come up with ideas for Thomas, refusing to go to sleep and keep his meridian sleep cycle. He is most likely still getting his ‘beauty rest’ as he calls it.” Logan gives a disapproving frown as he continues reading. Virgil sits back, thinking through what he learned. 

         “Then, was it you?” Logan looks up once again, slightly exasperated at the interruption, but also confused at the question.

         “Was what me?”

         “Well, I fell asleep on the couch, and woke up in my bed…” Logan raises an eyebrow.

         “That was not me, and additionally, never was. I have never seen you sleep in the Commons before, although we have known you to be down there at that time of the morning, we only thought you woke up beforehand to make the coffee, then retreat to your room. Is something wrong, Virgil?” Virgil shakes his head slowly after a second.

         “No… No, I’m fine… just thinking.” Logan hesitantly nodded, staring at Virgil in uncertainty, but quickly lost interest and dived back into his book, leaving Virgil to his thoughts.

_          It wasn’t Logan, never was… this whole time I thought it was Roman, but I doubt Roman would get up at such an hour just to tuck me into bed out of the kindness of his heart… and the coffee… Logan thought  _ **I** _ made the coffee…? I always thought it was him… I mean he literally is always up before us all…  _  I jumped up from the couch, barely making Logan react, simply turning the page. 

        “I’ll be right back” I mutter. Logan mumbles something back, obviously not caring. I walk carefully down the hallway, into a place none of us have ever really gone down. The Dark Side’s hallway. Despite his dark and gloomy exterior, he had always been a “light” side. Additionally, the only time he had been down here was when Roman was trying to figure out if they could somehow push Morality’s room down there. The thought caused disgust to creep up on him, shivering at the thought. He pushed the thought away as he carefully crept down to a bright yellow door. Deceit. 

        He growled under his breath slightly. He had his suspicions of the lying side, his indifferent personality. Not only that, but he made it his business to know everyone  _ else’s _ business. Virgil had a strong suspicion that the trait knew who was doing this. He knocked harshly on the yellow door, glaring at the wood as if it could pass through and hit the snake. Deceit opened the door, his face in a gentle smile for a moment before he realized who was standing outside his door. He quickly placed his indifferent smirk that bordered on hatred, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms.

        “Yesss~? What  **don’t**  you need~?” Virgil narrowed his eyes at the side, saving the sudden change as a mental note for another day. He pushed past him and into the room, before turning to him, ignoring his raised eyebrow and his sudden impulse to take a look at the lying trait's room, having never been in there before. He pushes it down, having business at the moment.

        “I have a question for you, Deceit.” Deceit smiled a toothy grin as he leaned on the wall, crossing his legs.

        “ **Don’t** go ahead~.”

        “I have noticed something happening. I was wondering if you had any idea on who was doing it.”

        “ **Not** likely~.” Virgil scowled at the side, frustrated at having to decipher each response he gave. Deceit merely widened his grin at his frustration, taking petty satisfaction in the anxious side’s discomfort.

        “I have sometimes fallen asleep in the commons and woke up in my bed. Do you know who is doing it?” Deceit placed his hands on his chin in mock thought.

        “Who  **haven’t** you asked~?”

        “Logan and Roman aren’t the ones doing this.” Virgil steps towards Deceit, the latter not even flinching at the attempt at intimidation.

        “I have reason to believe you are doing it. Now, tell me why.” Silence envelopes the room, both sides glaring at each other, the tension in the room is palpable. Deceit suddenly breaks into laughter, causing Virgil to reel back in shock.

        “Y-You t-t-think it’s  **not** m-me~?” He stutters out between laughs, wiping some tears away. Virgil growls in irritation.

        “Who is it then, if not you!?!?” Virgil yells, raising his arms up in annoyance. Deceit seemed to sober up quickly at that, quickly hiding a few chuckles, the sly smirk reappearing on his face.

         “I  **don’t** believe you are forgetting someone~” Now it was Virgil’s turn to raise his eyebrows in confusion.

         “What?” Deceit shook his head, standing up straight, pushing a stunned Virgil out into the hallway, closing the door until Virgil could only see his face. Deceit narrowed his eyes slightly.

         “ **Don’t** have fun figuring it out, but I will tell you this…” Deceit leaned a bit towards him.

         “It  **was** the dark sides.” With that, he swiftly closed the door leaving a dazed Virgil outside in the dark hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great day/evening/night, and may the demon of procrastination leave your Roman alone.


	3. Small Acts Left Overlooked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil does what he does best. Deceit just wants Patton to be happy. Patton is a puffball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, already three chapters. I am surprised at the motivation I have for writing this. Anyways, take a bit fluffier chapter with more Parental!Deceit.
> 
> Edit: Chapter 3 of the audiobook:
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-3-small-acts-left-overlooked
> 
> (When I first wrote this chapter, I didn't really realize I would have trouble with the swearing xD I usually don't swear often, so it kinda took me off guard there... still, I did it in one take! :D)

Virgil stalked away from the door, scowling the entire time. He **definitely** did not like what he had just been told. He slammed his door, pacing the floor (heh) as his thoughts raged in his skull.

 _Maybe he was lying… like a double lie? Can he do that…?_  Virgil continued to pace, before having to sit down. If he continued his spiraling any more, he’d have a full blown panic attack. In turn, that would give Thomas a panic attack, most likely in public. Where lots of people are, watching Thomas and- Virgil sighed, flopping back completely, taking some deep breaths. It didn’t do him any good to continue thinking about this. So… he would have to do what he does best: Not care.

He pushed the thoughts away, refusing to pay them attention. He could feel the adrenaline drain from his body, the panic fading from his mind. He sighed in relief at the numbness, deciding to join the others in the commons to keep his mind off of certain things.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Patton sighed as the footsteps finally retreated into the rooms close by. It had been yet another movie night for the other sides. No doubt they left a mess. They always did. He closed his eyes as he leaned back into the pillows and stuffed animals of the host's past.  _I’ll wait an hour to make sure they're asleep…_ He slowly started to drift off, when a whoosh sounded in his room. He subconsciously smiled, opening his eyes and sitting up.

“Hey, Dee.” Deceit smiled warmly at the emotional side.  Shifting on the bed to look at Patton better.

“Hey, Pat… they just went to sleep…” Patton nodded, fiddling with the blanket, looking away from Dee, knowing what was going to come up.

“And you are going to clean up after them, make sure Virgil is in bed, and make their coffee before they wake up, aren’t you?” Patton gripped the blanket tighter, looking away from Deceit.

“Well, Virge hasn’t been sleeping in the commons for some time” He mumbled sheepishly. Deceit narrowed his eyes, despite Patton not looking at him.

“Why do you do this Pat?” Patton stayed quiet, like many times before whenever the question was brought up. Deceit sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Pat, just this once, answer me, yeah? Why do you do it?” Patton huffed a laugh, looking down at his lap, thinking for a couple of seconds before responding.

“Because everyone needs a little kindness in their lives…” Deceit furrowed his brow slightly.

“Yet you avoid them, doing these acts of kindness in secret. Why?! If you showed them what you are doing, they might have a better time realizing you aren’t a bad guy, Pat!” Deceit usually didn’t get frustrated when it came to those in his care-- he made sure that they were all provided for and made sure to make them as happy as they can be, especially Patton. The poor emotional side had-- you guessed it, a lot of emotions that could easily be hurt. He was hurt often. He growls softly in resentment. Patton had the opportunity to show his true colors, yet he decides to keep it to himself.

 

“Because I don’t want them to like me by my actions, Dee!” Patton suddenly yelled, leaving the Deceitful trait to lean back in shock. He knew Patton harbored some ‘bad’ emotions, as he would call it, but he rarely let his anger show. Deceit found a pang of pride in his heart for the traits retaliation, even though it was directed at himself.

“I don’t want them to feel as if they are entitled to like me just because I have done some acts of kindness for them. I will gladly suffer if only to have them realize and like my _personality_ , rather than feeling the need to pay me back for trivial acts. That is why I hide my actions. I don’t want them to feel alone-- I know how loneliness stings, but I won’t force them into a relationship.” Patton finished his rant, sinking back into the pillows, a tad bit exhausted at his emotional outburst. Things stayed quiet, Deceit staring at Patton, while Patton looked out the window at the darkened clouds. Deceit suddenly breaks his seemingly indifferent face, laughing, a snort (That suspiciously sound a lot like a hiss) interrupting every now and then. Patton's startled, not expecting **laughter** when he just yelled at his only friend (and family). Deceit looked up at Patton, pride showing in his eyes. He wipes a few tears away, unable to contain a few more chuckles.

“My little guy is all grown up.” He smiles happily. Patton blushes, looking away and pursing his lips in obstinance.

“No, I haven’t… I'm just little old me...” Deceit shook his head, pulling the side into a hug.

“My dear, you have a literal heart of gold. I have no doubt they will realize what a great person you are soon.” They sat in silence, swaying slightly. It wasn't until Deceit felt wetness on his shoulder that he realized that Patton was silently crying, all insecurities washing away with his tears momentarily. He let out a few quiet sobs as he shook in Deceit’s arms. Deceit ran his hand through his curls, shushing him gingerly. They soon entered a peaceful silence, all except Patton's little squeaky hiccups that soon faded. Patton’s room gradually warming up and gaining color, more than it has in a very long time. It took Deceit a half an hour to break the silence, a little disappointed to break such a rare and fragile atmosphere.

“Virgil noticed…” Patton pulled away instantly, eyes widening.

“W-What?” Deceit smiled calmingly.

“He noticed it wasn’t Roman who took him into his room when he passed out of the couch one night. I have a guess of who it was.” Patton looked away sheepishly.

“He doesn’t know it’s me, right?” Deceit leaned back on his hands, smirking at Patton.

“Well, he may figure out very soon… but I doubt he will do anything about it. He has a record of not caring. I am quite surprised he even came to me and asked.”

“HE ASKED?!” Patton squealed in fear, causing Dee to laugh lightly. Patton hit his arm, obviously distraught, but not at all hard. Deceit wasn’t sure if Patton  **could** hit any harder but quickly dismissed the thought. He had full faith that Patton could protect and beat the shit out of anyone he wishes... only if it was absolutely needed, of course. Guilt flooded him at the previous thought. Patton didn’t deserve his patronizing thoughts. Deceit knew Patton was fully capable, despite his aloof and childish exterior. Deceit quickly recovered from his thoughts when he realized he hadn’t responded.

“He was simply curious. He left it alone soon afterward, as he hasn’t even confronted you, or changed his schedule… well, except not passing out on the sofa. That should give you less work to do at least.” Deceit smiled tenderly at the emotional trait. Patton sighed, looking a little dejected.

“I guess” He mumbled, absentmindedly playing with the corner of the blanket. Deceit pats Patton’s knee reassuringly, before standing up from the bed.

“Welp, if you are so adamant about cleaning after them, you should go now if you want to get enough sleep to even think about getting up to make their fucking coffee.” Patton squawked, admonishing him for his profanity. Deceit simply chuckled, offering a hand to him and helping Patton from the bed. Patton gaining a sudden burst of confidence perked up slightly from his normal slouched position. He picked up his cardigan from his desk chair, tying it around his shoulders. He quickly said goodbye, before quietly leaving the room. Deceit shook his head in fatigued fondness. Patton was always endearing to the deceitful side. He was the kindest, most loyal person out there. A literal ball of sunshine, at least… he used to be. As much as Deceit tried his best to keep the poor puffball company, he just couldn’t handle all the hate he received. It weighed on him, causing him to be skittish, careful with all his actions and speech. It dulled his spark. He had to learn the entire house. Which steps creak, and which ones didn’t. Exactly where to step, and how quiet he must be to not be heard late at night. Not only that, but he learned all their preferences from the sidelines. He learned what to say to make the hatred lessen. He had to learn to survive the hatred his heart took. Deceit sighed softly, hoping that Virgil would have a change in heart soon, else he would have to beat some sense into the 'light' sides, despite Patton's wishes for kindness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dee's snort-hiss is the best thing I've come up with so far xD.
> 
> Told you Dee swears. Much to Patton's dismay, of course.
> 
> Have a great day/evening/night, and may the demon of procrastination leave your Roman alone.


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil can't ignore it anymore. He needs to find a way to make the feelings go away, and he can't retreat in his normal fashion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title scare ya a bit? It should. Or maybe it shouldn't. It could be violent, heartbreaking, or a revelation. You will just have to read to see. >:D
> 
> I am quite surprised, I didn't have motivation for this at all today, barely writing any this morning, or even a couple hours ago. I wasn't inspired, but suddenly I have written the longest chapter. That's insane.
> 
> I love my puffball
> 
> Edit: Chapter 4 audiobook 
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-4-confrontation

Virgil tossed and turned in bed. He’s been doing so for the last few days, unable to go to sleep and not willing to go down to the commons, so he was stuck in his room for the time being. It was torturous. He couldn’t get to sleep, for the fifth time this week, which didn't help because it was Wednesday. Virgil growled in agitation, rubbing the palms of his hands over his face.   _ This is it… this is where I die _ . He thought as he lay flat on his back, his arms outstretched as if accepting death. He stared up into the ceiling, watching his vision swirl in the darkness. He was hoping that a movie night would somehow help him, with all the social interaction, but his insomnia had other ideas.

“That’s it!” He whisper-yelled (He didn’t want to wake the others and have some irritable “roommates”). He kicked the blankets off of him, shrugging on his hoodie, and made his way downstairs. It was only 11 PM, so the others should be fast asleep by now. He didn’t care about _whoever_ (although he grimaced at the thought of who it _could_ be)  would make sure he was in his own bed after passing out on the couch. He couldn’t stand staying in his room for any longer. He was halfway through the hallway, wincing whenever a squeak was heard, when he froze. There were soft sounds coming from downstairs. He quickly pushed the thought of threat away, guessing it to be Roman or Logan getting a drink of water. He continued down the first two steps but got curious. He crouched, looking through the fence on the stairs into the commons. 

* * *

 

 

Patton sighs, throwing yet another can into the trash. He quickly stretched his back, rubbing his eyes as he continued cleaning. They had yet another movie night, meaning a lot of soda cans  (Some crushed, thanks to Roman) and popcorn thrown in places popcorn shouldn’t be. He picked yet another popcorn kernel from the floor, placing it in his garbage bag he kept on hand while traversing the house. He folded blankets, cleaned stains, and threw away the trash sluggishly. He needed to catch up on sleep. Badly. That would have to wait, though. He still had to clean the house up, and he had to do it before they woke up. He could sleep during the day, anyways. Deceit might not like it, but it was a price to pay for his kindness. He rubbed his back, aching slightly from bending over to clean everything up. 

 

“... What are you doing?”

* * *

 

 

Virgil slowly crept down the stairs, a tiny, little bit flabbergasted at the sight.  _ Morality _ . Their enemy. The person he hates with a fiery passion… is cleaning their mess. Virgil watches, Morality’s back turned to him, as he picks up their pop cans, fixing blankets and the sofa cushions. Virgil’s resolve cracks a little, his own morals battling his stuck up ways. He hesitates, before deciding at least at this moment, he can’t afford not to care.

“... What are you doing?” Virgil jumps back a bit when the side whipped around to meet him, his eyes widen in shock and… fear? Virgil knew that look too well. He was just about to reach out to calm him when the man suddenly retreated into himself, schooling his facial expression and putting on an indifferent pose, leaning to one side with his hands on his hips, although it wasn't outward enough to be considered threatening. It reminded Virgil of a certain snakey side. The side in front of him raised an eyebrow, looking bored.

“Cleaning? What does it look like?” He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at Virgil. Virgil stands stunned for a few seconds, his mind rushing to catch up.

“Uh- eh, nothing. Just… have you been… doing this” Virgil motions to the whole room, mostly clean from the mess they made. “Every time we have a movie night?” Patton looked to the side, rubbing his arms for a second, looking embarrassed. Virgil couldn’t think of a reason why he would be so.

“That is none of your business.” He stated, quickly scooping up the last of the mess (that could be seen), before snapping the trash bag into the dumpster just outside the house. He usually took the time to take it out himself, so he could look at the stars, but Patton felt as if he couldn't do that as easily with Virgil right in front of him. They stood in complete and awkward silence, Virgil analyzing Patton while Patton shifted on his feet often. He obviously anxious, and at a loss of what to do. Patton slowly absconded past Virgil, mumbling something close to “Goodnight Virgil.” Virgil turned to say goodnight, waving his hand stiffly.

“Goodnight, uh-…” Virgil paused. He didn’t know Morality’s name. He sat in silence trying to locate any memory where he might have said it, but none came up. By the time he abandoned his mission, Patton was long gone, already scurried off to his room. Virgil heard the faint click of the door closing. He stood in pensive silence, his mind racing. Morality, the most hated side of the ‘light sides’ (as Roman coined them) was just found cleaning the entire living room from the mess they all made. Even though he never got to participate in those activities. Virgil abruptly felt a surge of guilt flood his system. He didn’t know why, he’d never felt guilty for being callous to the emotional side before-- He deserved it after all…

_ Did he? _  Virgil shook his head, groaning at his rushing thoughts. He’d save it for another day. All this thinking was finally kicking his insomnia’s ass. He retreated to his room, crashing on his bed, allowing unconsciousness to swallow his thoughts.

 

* * *

 

There was no coffee. Virgil stood in the kitchen door frame, slightly stunned at the sight of the empty counter. In the morning. This never happened, it was always there. Virgil had noticed that Logan looked at him bitterly when he stumbled down the stairs, a look only reserved for “I don’t have caffeine so everyone is on my death list”. Virgil looked over, seeing the coffee being currently made. He walked into the living room, looking at Logan, who was brooding in his own little corner. His book was on the arm rest, forgoten as he was drowned in negative thoughts.

“You making the coffee?” Logan looked up at him sharply, obviously not happy at all.

“Since someone forgot to make the coffee, yes. I had to start it now. What were you doing, did you stay up too late watching those ‘conspiracies’ videos of yours?” Virgil paused, letting his calm, not caring face replace him while he thought for a second.

_ He thinks it was me. I mean, he did say it before… Was it… It was Morality, wasn’t it? _ Virgil broke from his thoughts.

“Sorry. It won’t happen again.” Virgil didn’t know why he lied, but he assumed it was for calming Logan down. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Just don’t do it again.” Virgil shrugged uncaringly as he flopped on the couch, pulling out tumblr as  he waited for the coffee to be done. Much as he tried, he couldn’t help but think about Morality. He must be the one who makes the coffee every morning. Logan believes that Virgil does it, Roman wouldn’t bother to do it (speaking of, apparently belting Disney songs most of the night needs at least 36 hours of beauty sleep, as he still wasn’t down yet). This could only mean it was the heart. He was positive it wasn’t the dark sides. Although he didn’t trust Deceit (obviously), he could tell he wasn’t lying about this matter. So there was only one person left in the house that could do all of this. Morality. Virgil guessed it made more sense, anyways. He had more contact with Virgil, Roman, and Logan than the dark sides. He might have picked up their preferences in interactions that he… wasn’t apart of. Virgil felt another pang of guilt, suddenly feeling ashamed. He sighed, hoping coffee would help him dispel these emotions. 

Of course, just like his life, nothing goes right for Virgil. The dark, bitter liquid did nothing to lessen the feeling in his gut, the pooling dread of fear, in particular, the fear of wrongdoing. No matter what Virgil did, he couldn’t bring it in himself to stop caring about it.

This disturbed Virgil very much, mostly because he was currently having a mini panic attack in his head from confusing feelings while on the outside he was casually scrolling through myspace (Dead. Just like his soul). On the outside, he couldn’t care less. On the inside, he couldn’t care  **more** . This was new for Virgil. He had found when Thomas was younger, the best way to avoid conflict, or any type of anxiousness, was to avoid it. Out of sight, out of mind. If he didn’t care enough about it, he wouldn’t think about it. Now that ability was robbed from him, all because of his stupid morals. Something that had never gotten in his way.

Confused, he sighed. Maybe he would try to wait it out. With time, he could regain that ability. He could try to forget about the issue if he ignored it. He quickly pushed it to the side, instead focusing on his phone or environment.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t working for Virgil. Although he tried his hardest not to pay attention, or think about the heart, Virgil noticed. He always noticed. He just never cared, made it his goal not to. But he was forced to care about this. For some reason, his idiotic mind wouldn’t let him push it to the side. This caused him to actually notice for the first time. To put meaning behind the information. He noticed the little things, things he never did before. Things he was sure Logan and Roman didn’t notice, being too busy with other interests or work. Things would appear conveniently where they needed to be. The cupboard always had an extra jar of crofters (Virgil knew it wasn’t the other two, due to the fact that he had heard both of them exclaim in happiness upon finding the jar at least 3 times). The worst part of it was, he was getting the credit. Subtly, he could see that the others treated him a little bit kinder, due to the fact that they thought  _ he  _ did it. 

Virgil felt sick. He was getting the rewards of the hard work of someone else. Someone, they wouldn’t, and never have bat an eye at. He was technically stealing. Virgil exhaled harshly. He couldn’t take it anymore. He concluded that the only way he was going to get through these feelings, was to deal with them. He would try to confront Morality. Once he saw how bad the guy was, he could get rid of the nasty feelings his mind conjured up. Surely it was all a trick. He was doing these things to trap them somehow.

_ Then why would he hide it? _ Virgil groaned at the little voice in his head. Virgil figured he would have to confront the guy face to face. Have a little chat to see if he could get him to react. He just had to wait and catch him at the perfect time.

* * *

 

 

This was a failure. Ever since the night Virgil found out about the emotional side cleaning up after them, he hadn’t been out since.  He got close, of course, but always ended up missing him. He was avoiding Virgil. Virgil moaned in anguish. The longer he waited, the worse he felt. He needed to find a way to affront the side, or else he felt he was going to combust. Not to mention the other two were slightly hostile for all the tasks left incomplete. He decided to sleep on it, after staying a couple hours in the commons after Logan and Roman went to bed. He couldn’t take trying to stay up any longer. He swiftly (and as silently as he can, not knowing the squeaky parts of the floor) headed for his room.

 

* * *

 

Patton shifted on his bed. He hated being cooped up in his room, but from what Deceit had told him, the others were a bit antsy. More the reason to continue to do his daily routine in making the coffee, cleaning, and making sure they were all stocked up and everything was in place. He wanted to, but he didn’t feel like he could face Virgil. It seems as if he hasn’t told the other two since they would have yelled at him already, but he didn’t want to chance anything. Deceit told him to stay put, at least until he feels ready, but Patton couldn’t take it. He had resorted to having Dee bring him his food. He absolutely  **_loathes_ ** being a burden to the already overwhelmed side (even though he refuses that he’s overwhelmed). He still had a prominent fear of confrontation, but he hated being a burden even more. He sat up from the bed, picking up his personal cookbook, and quietly shuffling to the door. He’s so focused on feelings raging in his heart that he doesn’t hear the squeaks of the steps.

 

* * *

 

Virgil zoned out, heading to his room. He was scrolling once again through his phone, not expecting much. He was so distracted, he didn’t realize the body walking towards him until a few seconds after the collision. He winced slightly, looking at who he’d run into. His eyes widened upon seeing the emotional side before him. He was crawling away a few paces, panicked. Apologies flew out of his mouth like a fountain, all stuttered and full of fear. Virgil didn’t know what to do. The emotional side looked down, tearing up as one of the pages was ripped clean out from the tumble. He quickly scooped up his cookbook, not bothering collecting the lost page in his haste to get to safety. Virgil was still sitting there a couple minutes after the door closed, and the sound of a lock clicking. Virgil shook his head, breaking free from his shock. He picked up the paper, seeing a “crofter’s cookies” recipe. It was a standard recipe of course, but that is not what caught his eye. All around the page was multiple notes, notes made from experience in cooking, and what worked. Some of the ingredients were scribbled out, replaced by another ingredient, obviously better for the job. Not to mention the hearts and stars that littered the paper. One note said "Roman and Logan's favorite. Virgil not so much: See page 29".

Virgil suddenly realized. Just like the corner of the page, this man was nothing but a ball of sunshine. The fear he saw was real. He could practically taste the panic radiating off of him. There was no way he could predict the paper to be torn out, or Virgil even going to bed at that time. It wasn’t a trick… but with the feelings raging inside of him, he wished it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has happened! He has finally realized! Now it is just a matter of finding a way to not only break Patton from his shell but somehow convince the others the errors of their ways. Or will Virgil just combust because he's conflicted? Who knows?
> 
> Lots of time skips, but all necessary for it :P
> 
> Phew, that was fun! Also, if you have questions, ask away! I'll try to answer them.
> 
> Have a great day/evening/night, and may the demon of procrastination leave your Roman alone.


	5. Stumbling Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil feels like a clod, Patton is uneased, and Deceit is pleased.
> 
> (My best summary yet)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't have much motivation this week, which is why this is kinda late from my last ones, but oh well. 
> 
> I would TOTALLY recommend "The Villain I Appear to Be", and also the animatic "Diamond Jack" it came from. It is absolutely awesome, and as you can see by the title of the song itself, it kinda goes with this fanfic. So listen to it while you read, if you'd like!
> 
> "Just know that all though I may not think everything through, I don't take back what I say or regret what I do. I know that some stay in line and they stick to the plan, but if you leave it to me, I'll do whatever I can. Cuz' I, Know that's what I'm here for. I, don't wanna wait around anymore. Even if you can't see, the good inside me. I don't have the time to tell you why I do the things that I do, just please hold on and soon you'll see. That I'm, not the villain I appear to be".
> 
> I absolutely love this song :D.
> 
>  
> 
> LAST NOTE, Since it's been so long, I kinda feel bad, and a longer chapter would take longer, so I will give you what I have now (It cuts the story perfectly actually). I will be working on a little fluffy piece for in between, and then another major (sort of) turning point in the story.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: Chapter 5 audiobook
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-5-stumbling-start

"The hardest part about being an outcast,

isn't the love you don't receive.

It's the love you long to give that nobody wants"

-Jodee Blanco

 

It wasn’t until about another week that Patton continued to do his little routine in secret. It took another week for Virgil to catch him again, this time on better terms. Virgil happened upon Patton in the kitchen. He was making himself a sandwich, unaware of Virgil approaching. Virgil didn’t even know Patton was there until he stood in the door frame. He watched Morality for a second, his movements relaxed. He knew that in a second, that would change.

“Hey there… Morality.” Just like predicted, Patton froze in panic. He quickly slapped the piece of bread to finish the sandwich, taking ahold of the plate and turning towards Virgil. Virgil could see the panic in his eyes and his breathing due to the fact that Virgil was standing in the middle of his only escape (except for sinking out, which actually took some energy to do. By the look of him, he mustn't have the energy, if the bags under his eyes were account for anything.) He instantly got into a defensive position, unconsciously inflicting guilt on Virgil. How much has Virgil done to him to make him so disquieted in Virgil's presence? Virgil stumbled over his words, cursing himself internally for his bumbling idiocy.

“I-I just wanted to say… hi?” Morality narrowed his eyes.

“Why?” Virgil shifted on his feet. He did  **not** like talking to people.

“I- um… I just wanted to thank you… for all you do for us even though we don’t treat you the best…” Morality blushed, looking away, flustered at the gratitude. Virgil took this a sign to continue.

“I just… wanted to ask… if we could be friends?” Virgil looked up, hope in his eyes. Morality stood still, almost like a statue, except for his slow, uneven breathing. He looked uneasy, and obviously bewildered at the question. His confusion turned to uneasiness. He looked at Virgil almost like he was pleading with Virgil to understand, as if afraid that if he didn’t, there was some punishment in store for him. This sent shivers down Virgil’s spine, feeling more guilt. Morality placed down his plate, freeing his hands to gesture.

“Look… I appreciate you thanking me…” He placed his hands out in a placating gesture as if to calm an angered beast. 

“But… you can’t just expect me to instantly become your friend.” He gestured between the both of them.

“ You have literally spent  **years** hating me, and you expect me to instantly trust you and become buddies as if nothing happened for literally our whole lives?” He shook his head.

“You must understand me being apprehensive.” He chuckled uncomfortably, rubbing his neck as Virgil nodded, who immediately felt like a clod.

“I-I understand.” Virgil watched as Morality relaxed slightly as if danger was just averted.

“If you don't want to be friends. Hell, I wouldn't want to be friends with me if I was in your position." Virgil trailed off, obviously not helping his case at all. He stuttered to pick it back up.

"I guess I just want to let you know I’m sorry… and I want to try to make it up to you… Maybe we could… hang out, or something?" Virgil immediately rushed to assure him.

"I mean! I understand if you are hesitant now, but I just mean... like some time... I'd... I’d like to make it up to you…” Morality stood overwhelmed, still once again. He became a bit jittery as he thought about his response. Virgil waited patiently, with bated breath. Morality finally took some calming breaths, avoiding eye contact.

“I’ll… think about it…” With this, Morality sank out, leaving his sandwich in his swiftness to get away. Virgil winced, only imaging the power drain it caused him.  He leaned against the counter, rummaging through his brain for a good idea to at least start mending bridges. He only wished they weren’t too far gone to from years of neglect and purposeful degeneration. He sighed, saddened at his decadence over the years. He’d barely noticed, but thankfully he could make things better. Hopefully. 

Virgil lit up like a Christmas Tree as a thought hit him. He smiled, placing the sandwich in the fridge as he got to work.

* * *

 

 

Patton paced around his room, Deceit watching him go back and forth from the bed, his head tracking his movement. He was smiling to himself, happy although his friend (some would say son) was in such disarray, not to mention drained from the interaction. His hair was a mess from constantly pulling, and he was mumbling his feelings in an incoherent mess. Deceit looked up as the room shook a bit from the confusion of Patton. He chuckled, amused as he called to his friend.

“Patton…” Said side froze, turning to Dee, his hand still in his hair from where he was pulling at it. Deceit patted the bed next to him, a certain urgency that told Patton that it really isn’t an invitation. He sits down, flopping his back on the sheets as he stared up at the ceiling. Deceit giggled, carding his hand through Patton’s hair to fix the curls, at least a little.

“This is a good thing, Pat. He at least wants to make amends with you. Yes, you should be cautious, but don’t disregard this opportunity just because you feel like he is lying.” Patton sighed, turning to face Deceit.

“What should I do?” 

“Well, Pat. It’s not a one way road. As he gets to know you, you will get to know **him**. If you are ever uncertain of him lying about his intentions, just ask me. Trust me, I am the king of lies. You literally can’t lie to me without me knowing.” Patton groaned.

“I still don’t know… What if he just wants to ‘hang out’ just because he knows what I do now? This is exactly what I didn’t want!-” Patton and Dee were interrupted by a knock at the door. Both jumped, having never heard that in Patton’s room before. They both sat in tense silent, both training on the noises outside the door. After about a good half hour, Patton finally sat up, cautiously walking to the door with soft footsteps. He got down on the ground, checking for feet underneath the door. He saw none, but he did see a weird white object in front of the door. Carefully, he opened the door, keeping an eye out, and ears trained like a deer in the woods. Once he was sure he was safe for the moment, he looked down. It was a plate full of spaghetti, with a little post it note next to it. Without reading it, wanting to retreat into his room as soon as possible, he grabbed the items and closed the door. Deceit was leaning to see what it was. Patton set the plate on his bedside table, reading the purple sticky note for the first time.

 

I meant what I said

I want to get to know you

I hope we can catch up soon

-Virgil

 

Deceit read it over Patton’s shoulder, smiling.

“See? He really wants to get to know you.” Patton looked at Dee, hope in his eyes.

“You think?” Patton still held a bit of distress in his eyes at the news that someone wanted to be friends with him.

“I don’t sense a hint of lies on that paper, so, yeah. I think so”

“Wait, you can do that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, that quote is perfect :D
> 
> Again, sorry it's taken so long. It was a lack of motivation coupled with lack of sleep (because I suck at going to sleep at a good time) but it's the weekend! Woo! I can write all I want!
> 
> Not to mention I actually got more than like 4 hours of sleep last night and took naps, so that's good.
> 
> Anyways, Deceit being a good noodle dad and Patton being too anxious for his own well being coming up next!


	6. Impasta?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dee is amused, while Patton is suspicious... of pasta?
> 
> (Patton also angers the noodle and gets the punishment)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres a short fluff, of one of the cutest things I have come up with.
> 
> This is HEAVILY inspired by the video "Nope Ropes, Sneks, & Danger Noodles" (Yes, this is a video. It is one of my favorite videos ever) Check it out, it is hilarious.
> 
> Edit: Audiobook for chapter 6
> 
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-6-impasta

The desk light turned on, Patton positioning it over the plate on the desk. Deceit sits on the bed, barely holding in his hiss-snorts as Patton carefully examines the spaghetti, like an interrogator.

“Pat-on-the-back, I am pretty sure it is not poisoned.” Patton looked at him seriously, his face deadpanned.

“It could be a danger noodle.” Deceit burst out, laughing hysterically.

“Patty, no.” He broke off into another fit of laughter.

“Pat,  _I_ am a danger noodle.” Patton leaned against the desk, crossing his arms. He looked serious as he went to explain himself.

“Nononono, you are a variety of things, but not a danger noodle. Danger noodles have the hurt juice. If anything, you are a nope rope when you want to be scary. If not, you are simply a boop noodle” Patton stood up, crossing the room and pressed his index finger to Deceit’s nose. Deceit sat in shock when Patton whispered. 

“I booped the snoot.” Deceit couldn’t take it anymore, he flopped back on the bed, laughing as he hit the bed with his fist in his laughter. Patton nodded in success, going back to the desk and used the fork that came with it to poke it, pushing some of it around. When Deceit finally calmed down, he wiped tears from his eyes, getting up from the bed to join Patton at the desk. He lounged on the chair, sitting with his legs around the neck of the office chair, his arms crossed on top of the back of the chair as he looked at Patton. Patton didn’t seem to notice him as he spoke his thoughts.

“This noodle could be a hazard spaghetti… It could even be murder spagurder.” Deceit laughed once more, before taking the fork. Before Patton could protest, he took a bite out of the spaghetti, slurping up the last noodle. They sat in silence, Patton waiting for Deceit to fall over dead or something, but when nothing happened he relaxed. 

“Fine, it’s just some spicy noodles then.” Deceit snorted, placing the fork back on the plate. Patton took the plate back to his bed, resting his head against the wall as he ate, Deceit right beside him. Deceit summoned a fork, intent on sharing the food when Patton hissed at him. Deceit blinked a few times, before breaking out into a proud smile.

“Was that a cat, or a snake hiss?” Patton leaned the plate away from him, sticking his tongue out. Deceit sighed, a hiss coming through as he draped a hand over his face in mock anguish.

“Betrayal! The one who I have done so much for has left me to starve! O’, how shall I mend my broken heart!” Patton pushed his shoulder, placing the plate between them to share. Deceit smiled mischievously, taking a bite. Deceit giggled at a mumbled, “You sound like Roman” Before giving off some offended noises in protest.

“Yup, definitely Roman.” They both chuckled, before lapsing into silence, both sharing the dish. Deceit suddenly piped up after a couple minutes of thinking.

“What kind of snek am I, do you think?” Patton didn’t hesitate in his response.

“Uggo but still luvo snek.” Deceit pushed Patton off of the bed. Patton laughed, before conceding.

“Fine! Screaming worm boi!” 

“What?!” Deceit screeched. He pounced on Patton, tickling his sides.

“You better take it back!” Patton squirmed, choking and gasping for air.

“Fine! Fine! You’re the Original Snek!” Deceit nodded smugly, as he got to his feet, tugging Patton onto the bed (after he snapped the plate to the table), and curling around him.

“This is your punishment for angering the big thicc boi.” Patton huffed a breath.

“Ok, you noodle ball.”

"Shhh! Nap Time!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another big thing is gonna be coming up soon, maybe not the next chapter, but sooooooon.
> 
> More awkward encounters with Patton and Virge are most likely coming up!


	7. A Good Step In the Right Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going swimmingly for Virgil, so he decides to take a risk that could be dangerous, but also could be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! One of the turning points!
> 
> Not much to say beforehand, except enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Edit: Audiobook for chapter 7:  
> https://soundcloud.com/user-837127845/chapter-7-a-good-step-in-the-right-direction

Virgil had been coming up with a plan for a while now. So far things were going swimmingly. He’d been helping Patton with little things. He’d been cleaning up a bit more and had even caught Patton after a couple movie nights. They cleaned in silence, and at first, Patton was stiff as still as a board while they cleaned. After a few times, Virgil could see Patton a little bit relaxed as they got into a rhythm. Virgil had to say… he was feeling great. Better than he had in a while. Maybe he was wrong, all these years, for refusing to care. Caring just felt… better. Virgil couldn’t really describe how he felt to **do** something for once, but it may have just been his guilt leaving him the more he helped Patton.  Virgil was proud when he caught small, gentle smiles from the skittish side when he lowered his defenses unconsciously, before bringing it back up when he realized Virgil was still there.

Virgil just generally felt good, and he loved it. He was absolutely content on continuing and happy with the growth he’s gotten from Patton. That was until Logan and Roman noticed the sudden change. They were obviously displeased with Virgil, not necessarily mad. They were more like parents who disproved of a rebellious teen’s actions. They were more dismissive of Virgil but showed no intent on talking or stopping Virgil. Virgil felt a slight bit uncomfortable, questioning if his actions were right or not. He spent a full night pondering, before deciding there was no going back now.

He was about to leave his room when he felt the familiar tug of Thomas’s summon. He sighed, rising into the real world. When he got there, Roman and Logan were already arguing, Morality's corner was dark and empty as usual. Virgil frowned, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness at the sight, although this wasn't his first time looking at the dark corner. Virgil turned his gaze to Thomas, who was looking at him, pleading him to help. Virgil shrugged his shoulders, starting the usual routine. Things continued normally, Virgil, trying his hardest to keep up with the conversation.

 

“It’s your fault he isn’t productive!” Logan squawked, pointing at Roman in accusation.

“If it wasn’t for you, Thomas would be more in control-” Virgil’s eyes widened, knowing  **exactly** where this was going. He smirked to himself, prepping himself for the inevitable. He took a deep breath as Logan finished his sentence,

“- of his damned **EMOTIONS!** ” A whoosh sounded in the room, causing Virgil to perk up, his face lighting up with a gentle and encouraging smile. Morality stood in his spot, pretending to look bored, with his arms crossed defensively over his chest.

“You called?” Logan and Roman stopped their squabbling immediately, glaring daggers into Morality.

“What are **YOU** doing here?” Logan said sharply, causing Virgil to flinch. Morality shrugged.

“Yeah, you can leave now, we don’t need you” Roman dismissed, looking at his nails with sudden interest. Morality pulled his cardigan closer to his chest, clutching it slightly, although he continued to look uninterested.

“You literally called me here. You wanted emotions, so here I am.” Roman scoffed, using his hand he was looking at to shoo him off.

“What about ‘we don’t need you’ do you not get? Go-rality.” Morality sighed, glancing at Thomas, who avoided eye contact with him.

“Fine, if you truly don’t need me, I’ll go.” Morality was about to sink when Virgil reached out suddenly.

“WAIT!” Everyone looked at him, all in shock. Virgil shifted, fiddling with the edges of his sleeves.

“I mean… maybe you should… stay?” He asked, looking out of his fringe at the people in front of him. Logan and Roman looked at him indignantly, while Morality and Thomas looked doubtful. Virgil floundered, his confidence waning when he spotted something in Morality’s eyes. Hope.

Virgil’s confidence strengthened, and his resolve hardening.

“Obviously this back and forth is not working for Thomas if we are literally called each day for the same issue! I would think that if you two TRULY wanted to figure out this issue, you would be open to new ideas instead of bickering all the time.” Virgil scolded. Logan and Roman stayed silent, yet still glared at both Virgil and Morality.

 

Morality, in turn, was shaking slightly. His eyes were a tiny bit watery, but he quickly took a breath as he nodded, smiling and Virgil. Virgil nodded at him, smiling encouragingly. Morality cleared his throat, turning to Thomas for the first time in his entire life.

 

* * *

 

 

Patton couldn’t believe it. This was his chance. He had seen how Virgil was making an effort, but he never thought that it would go this far. That he would actually stick up for him, in front of the other two, and not to mention the host! He took a deep breath, looking at the host, who looked at him back.

“Hi?” The host looked at him awkwardly, obviously not sure what he should do. Patton understood. He spent most of his whole life hearing from the other three that he was not needed. Patton decided to introduce himself, to start off.

“Hi, kiddo. I’m your Morality, but also your heart, or emotions. Now, if you want me to help, tell me what’s going on.” The host lit up, stumbling a bit on his words, talking to a stranger (technically, Patton was). Patton simply smiled and nodded along.

“Well, I’ve just felt really drained lately. I know Logan and Roman want me to do two different things, and I am honestly trying to do my best to complete both, but I don’t know if I can do it…”

Patton lifted his hand to his chin, thinking for a second before responding.

“I think you are simply stressed, kiddo. I can feel it distinctively.” The host nodded, before rubbing his arm and looking at Patton hopefully.

“Do you know how to relieve my stress?” Patton smiled, nodding.

“I do. There are many techniques to help yourself relax. I can give you a few if you’d like.” Thomas nodded, suddenly feeling a bit better talking to this supposedly bad side. He suddenly didn’t understand what was so bad about him.

“Well, since you are working on both of Roman’s and Logan’s interests at the same time, I am guessing that you are working all the time, right?” The host nodded, allowing Patton to continue.

“There are a few things that could help while working. Take some breaks in between. If you want to be productive, you need to have a clear, calm mind. So, if you are feeling overwhelmed, or just want to, there should be some meditative videos of people to help you release tension in your muscles. That is simply one, another one would be to go for a short walk. I think the fresh air could help you after staying cooped up all the time. The last one I will say is a little thing you can do at any time.” Patton conjured up a ball of yarn, a gradient of light blue, and light grey. Took out scissors, causing Roman to place his hand on his sword, ignoring the glare Virgil sent his way. Logan seemed slightly interested, although he obviously tried to hide it in favor of a scowl. Morality handed Thomas a cut piece from the yarn, before cutting another piece on his own, holding out the end for him to see.

“I am about to show you how to ‘hand crochet’. It’s not necessarily to make anything but meant to be rhythmic and calming. It’s something you can do subconsciously as you do stuff to relax. Now, you take this end and make a loop, just like that…” Virgil smiled as Morality continued to instruct Thomas. Thomas looked extremely interested, soon getting the hang of it. He was dragged out of the scene when he caught the looks of two sides, glowering at him. He slightly shrank into himself as Logan spoke through gritted teeth.

“We need to talk. Now.” Before Virgil could say anything, the two dragged him down to the commons. This wasn’t going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It again has happened! Virgil is such a good boi, and finally was able to get Thomas's attention, and actually, help solve an issue. Of course, at the cost of his other two relationships gaining animosity.
> 
> Hope you didn't get too confused with a lot of changing in the middle, I purposely made sure Patton would call Thomas "the host", due to the fact that he was never close to Thomas to feel as if he could talk to him like a friend.
> 
> Those techniques are things I've actually learned from my teacher who used to study that type of therapy! Hand crocheting is actually really fun, I would recommend it. Not to mention those videos that help relax your muscles. My legs felt like jelly for the rest of the day after I did one.
> 
> I'll see you soon, with more!


	8. A Long Needed Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Logan talk to Virgil. Thomas talks to Patton. Patton retells his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been so long! I was just too tired, and never had the motivation or a good place/time to write. I'm here now though, and hopefully more soon.

Virgil stumbled back at the momentum of which he was thrown into the commons. He catches himself on the banister.

“What the fuck dude?! We were just helping Thomas!”

“No, you were helping our ENEMY” Roman hisses, looking as if Virgil committed murder.

“WHY is he our enemy in the first place!”

“Because he is emotions” Logan stated, “Thomas does not need such frivolous things when he could be focussing on other,  _ important _ matters.”

“Are you sure about that, or do you just not wanna listen to reason!” Logan spluttered, laughing indignantly.

“ _ YOU  _ are trying to lecture  **ME** on REASON?!” Logan shakes his head disapprovingly.

“Yeah, well maybe if you would act a little more rational, then I wouldn’t have to!”

“Me? Being irrational? Name one time.”

“Then name me one reason why Morality is so bad?”

“Well, that is easy. He’s morality.” 

“That isn’t a reason. Matter of fact, you think that the personification of ETHICS is bad?”

“I was referring to Morality as his name. As I have stated before, he is frivolous, childish, and therefore not necessary.”

“Emotions aren’t necessary, hm?”

“No.”

“What keeps us motivated?”

“Me, duh,” Roman speaks up, gesturing dramatically.

“What motivates Roman?” Roman was about to speak, before reconsidering, floundering as he attempting to think. Logan stops too, seemingly surprised at the lack of knowledge.

“I’ll tell you where. Deep emotions. The heart feeds into creativity, and any desire you wish to accomplish. This is why Thomas hasn't been motivated or inspired to do much with the work you've given him. That means nothing would get done, and if it does, it won't be very good. Yes, emotions can cause pain sometimes. But there it can also bring joy to Thomas’ life. I don’t know _what_ happened in the past that made you hate him so, but,” Virgil reached into his pocket, pulling out the folded up recipe, showing them.

“This man has been making your coffee, cleaning after you, and making your favorite food for years… and you haven’t even bothered to think that it was him, you thought it was me because I was somewhat close to you.” He handed the recipe for them to observe further. The two froze, reading the personal notes and drawings. They continued to sputter, trying to collect and present any information to prove their case. Logan sighed in frustration, causing Virgil to smile.

“Exactly. This whole time you’ve been painting him as some enemy to Thomas as if he was evil and keeping Thomas from goals. Yet he is out there right now, helping Thomas from the mess YOU two created from all the work you’ve put him under. Sure, you can justify it by saying that ‘it will help Thomas in the future, he’ll be happy when he completes this’, but that is never enough for you, is it? You continue to pile on the work for him and ignore how he is suffering. You’ve taken his kindness to listen to the both of you for granted. Thomas should enjoy himself from time to time, even if it is a day or an hour. He needs time to himself to recharge from stress and work. You both continually attempt to take hold of the steering wheel, causing him to swerve. If this continues, you will lead him to crash and burn. My advice? Start thinking. Think about how each and everything affects Thomas. By pushing down his Morality and Emotions, you impose him to submit to you two blindly, as well as harm his well being. I am not asking you to be friends with Morality, or even acknowledge him (because I know that is not happening anytime soon). I am asking for you to keep an open mind and let him help Thomas.”

Virgil took deep, rapid deep breaths, much like the ones during his panic attacks. Unlike those panic attacks, he felt incredibly powerful and determined. He finally registered their looks and was proud to see what looked like guilt. He took the recipe back, folding it carefully, leaving Logan’s hand still extended where he held it.  Virgil could see the gears turning in their heads, no doubt thinking through all the events with Morality. Virgil stood there, waiting for their response. He waited, so inspired and fired up, he  _ hoped  _ they  would come up with a point for him to smack down again. Roman and Logan stood in silence, before both perking up. They put up slightly indifferent looks causing Virgil’s stomach to drop. Logan clears his throat in his usual manner.

“I, as hard as it is to say this, concede. You brought up some valuable points, and if what we are doing is truly harming, we shall do what we need to do to get Thomas back on track. We will, figuratively, 'lay off him', and allow… Morality… to discuss more in dilemmas.” Roman stood taller, crossing his arms.

“But, I would like to add, if  _ he _ ends up bringing nothing beneficial to Thomas, we will continue to find a new way” Roman still grimace at the thought of Morality. Virgil glared at him, crossing his arms.

“I assent with Roman. This matter isn’t merely about the treatment of Morality, it’s about doing what is best for Thomas. If he proves to be harmful to Thomas, we shall find some other way to fix this, and continue as normal.” 

Virgil growled under his breath.  _ Of course, they only think ‘for’ Thomas. _ Logan saw the anger in his eyes, smugly saying,

“If you believe so much in Morality’s worth, this should be of no issue.” Virgil hisses lightly under his breath, before responding.

“I guess not. I’m going to go check on them.” Virgil grumbled, before appearing in the real world. He was happily surprised to see both Morality and Thomas laughing loudly. It was the most sound he had heard from the gentle side. Thomas noticed him in his corner and waved at him.

“Hey, Virgil!” Virgil smiled, giving a two finger salute.

“‘Sup Thomas.” Virgil internally chuckled at the emotional side’s sudden shyness. It wasn’t noticed by Thomas as he continued.

“I had no idea Morality here was such a great guy! Why didn’t we talk more?” Patton blushed at the compliment, rubbing his arm and looking away. He replied hesitantly, as Virgil was mixed with sadness and anger.

“It was Logan, Roman, and Virgil… Well, Virgil made it up to me, but Roman and Logan are still... “ He trailed off, unable to find the words.

“Arrogant.” Virgil supplied. “They were arrogant and persistent that you do things their way… and I… I just couldn’t find it in me to care, which I realize now, was not the best choice. I’ve decided to change.” Virgil looked to Morality, who gave him a gentle, watery smile. The first to be directed straight at Virgil, not quickly hidden. Virgil felt joy set in his heart, too deep to be removed. 

Patton broke the eye contact, being a bit overwhelmed with all of the attention. 

“Well, I think it’s time for me to hit the hay. I’ve had a bit of an… eventful today. Take care, Thomas… Virgil.” With this, he sank out. Virgil waved as he left, leaving Thomas and Virgil to lapse into silence. They both stared off in their own worlds, simply thinking. Thomas broke it after a while.

“I feel bad for him…” Virgil looked up, making eye contact. He gave a sad smile.

“As do I, Thomas... “

“I never noticed or stood up for him because of the hate I saw come from you three… I didn’t even question it... I just accepted it, because you did. I thought he was… bad.” Virgil nodded.

“As did I, Thomas. I think something happened between Roman, Logan, and Patton. Something that made them hate him. Even so, it isn’t justified. My actions aren’t justified. I just hope that giving him a chance to help you can at least start paying back all I’ve done to him in the past.” Thomas smiled lightly.

“I am sure it did Virgil. At the very least, it started to make up for it.” Virgil nodded, before sinking out, leaving Thomas alone. Thomas sighed, flopping on his couch, staring at the ceiling as he thought through his emotions, finally being able to let out emotions he had no idea he was holding. He smiled as tears fell to the cushions.

 

* * *

 

Thomas and Patton stopped what they were doing when Logan and Roman dragged Virgil to the commons. Patton looked on in worry, prompting Thomas to speak up.

“They should be fine...uh... “ Patton knew he was trying to elicit the reveal of his name, but didn’t feel up to it quite yet.

“Just call me ‘Morality’ for now.” Patton watched as the host’s face drop, causing him to wince internally. So far he was enjoying the host’s company, but he still felt apprehensive towards him. Unlike the other sides, he’d never got to talk to Thomas properly until just now. Unfortunately, all the neglect from the others had caused Patton to feel a sense of being inferior to them, and more so the host than the others. He was technically the boss, after all. Patton worked for the host, thus inferior. He felt jealousy at the other’s easy speech when talking to the host, but since he never got the chance to even get close. Even now, as he was left alone with the host, he felt disconnected from him. He felt so uncomfortable, so, he decided to do what he does best.

“Well, I guess I’ll just… go… ” Patton uncomfortably snapped the yarn they had been working on back into his room, getting ready to sink out.  Thomas reached out before he could get half way.

“Wait!” They both freeze for a second before Morality rises back up, and Thomas rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I… I just want to get to know you better…” He mumbles, looking up at him hopefully. 

Patton stands there. He is kinda getting sick of being shocked all the time. He has a good reason this time. The host--Thomas, wanted to get to know him. That scared him.

“Uh… sure… What would you like to talk about, host?” Thomas looked at him in confusion.  _ Host? _ Thomas didn’t realize he said it out loud until he saw Patton blush and look away in embarrassment. 

“I- Sorry. It’s just… well, considering that this is the very first time we actually got to talk in person, I don't quite feel like I can… call you by your name…” Thomas adopted a friendly and genuinely curious face.

“Why not?” Patton huffed.

“Well, with the others keeping me away from you, and… degrading” Both Thomas and Patton flinched at the word, “me, I kinda felt… inferior to all of you. You most, though. You feel like… more of a boss to me, in all honesty.” Patton had no idea what he was doing. He truly didn’t mean to spout off his feelings, wanting to be more cautious in this situation, due to the fact that his poor abused heart couldn’t handle rejection from his own  **_HOST_ ** . He didn’t mean to, but something about his host, Thomas, made him feel at ease. Something in his nature right now just made him feel comfortable, a weirdly familiar feeling. He couldn’t really place his finger on the feeling, but he let it slide for now. 

Thomas instantly felt bad. He had never meant to do such things to this seemingly nice guy. 

“Well, why don't we start now. Better late than never, right? You can call me just call me Thomas.” Patton smiled, going with the flow of the conversation, which was quite easy to catch on. They talked about menial matters, soon discovering their shared love of dad jokes (“So you are my source of dad jokes!”).

Patton was so stuck in the conversation, that he didn’t realize Virgil appearing.

 

* * *

 

Patton arrived in his room after a long day. He flopped on his bed, totally exhausted from all of the social contact. He just had the best day of his life. He had gotten his chance. He helped. He actually was given a chance. He grabbed the closest pillow and screamed into it in pure joy. He was startled out of his excited squeals when a hand touched his knee. He stopped immediately, looking out from his cover. Deceit looked at him in concern, and part fury. Patton immediately went to reassure him, launching at him, holding tight, and babbling about his wonderful day. Deceit held on the entire time, smiling down at the side, his back reflexively relaxing at the news as he swayed Patton. 

Patton let happy tears fall as he looked out the window, still clutching Deceit’s cape. He watched as a light drizzling rain fell onto the outside windowsill, much like his tears. The rain no longer left a pooling dread in his stomach as it used to. It was tranquil. Beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is COMPLETELY on Pat's side now! No more conflicting emotions on if he is on the right side, and hopefully, he's talked some sense into the others. ;D
> 
> Don't know if you've noticed, but I have left some hints throughout the other chapters. Something is going on, someone is planning something. I've left a hint in this chapter too ;P.


	9. Breaking Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit is a protective dad, Virgil is scared, and Patton is just helpful Patton. (The fluff chapter with little bits of angst sprinkled in like Roman's glitter he torments Logan with when they work to help Thomas with his work)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! It's been a couple days. I originally wanted to write and post this yesterday, since I had a day off, but I guess Remy's birthday hit me hard. By that, I mean I literally slept 14 hours without meaning to. SOOOooooo, because I feel a tad bit bad, I added a bonus to the end. Enjoy the fluff, and accidental major story plot thing I added in there. (That will be MAJOR later. Don't wanna give any hints, but it's kinda major.)
> 
> Also, enjoy tiny bits of lore on why characters do what they do.
> 
> Not my best chapter, but oh well.

Virgil really didn’t know why he was so nervous. Well, he was always nervous. He was ANXIETY after all.  This was just supposed to be a little hangout. Easy. If he accepts, this could be Virgil's chance to finally make it up to Morality. Why was he so nervous?

Actually, Virgil DID knew why he was so nervous. No, genuinely afraid. It might be the fact that Deceit was standing in Patton’s door frame, with his arms crossed in a protective stance. Virgil shuttered under his gaze, shrinking into his hoodie a tiny bit. Deceit smirked smugly, before resuming his aggressive stance.

“What do you want?” He growled. Virgil cleared his throat,  cursing to himself for his slight shaking. He stuttered, trying to find the right words, but unable to get anything coherent out. Virgil felt as if Deceit was the father of the man he was taking on a date, the dreaded meeting of your boyfriend’s father. Deceit was just about to shut the door on Virgil when a hand held the door open. 

Patton stood, facing Deceit with his hand holding the door a few inches open. He had a surprisingly gentle smile, juxtaposed to his hand keeping the door from closing, a door that was in the middle of being slammed close by Deceit. 

“Dee…” Patton whined, breaking Deceit’s aggressive demeanor immediately, almost giving Virgil whiplash from the sudden change in behavior. Deceit sighed,  letting the door swing open as he pulled Morality into a hug.

“You know I am just trying to protect you…” He resisted saying Patton’s real name, respecting Patton’s wish to reveal his name on his own terms. Patton smiled into Deceit’s shoulder.

“I know… but I can protect myself too, you know.” Deceit pulled back, laughing.

“My little guy is all grown up now, what shall I do?” Patton snorted.

“Ok, old man.” Deceit grumbled in mock annoyance. Patton looked over at Virgil, who was still shocked at the entire encounter.

Virgil felt slightly guilty, as if he wasn’t allowed to see this sentimental scene. He was simply an outsider, watching on. He startled out of his stupor at seeing Morality smile at him. The second smile to be directed at Virgil.

“Yes, it’s fine if we hang out, Virgil…” Virgil smiled, relief flooding him. That quickly changed at the look he got from Deceit, directing a contentious glare at Virgil. He quickly ducked his head at the gaze.

“I-I’ll meet you in the commons” Virgil made quick work to head down the hallway, barely picking up his feet in his hurry, letting his feet drag across the floor.

Deceit smiled, chuckling at the reaction. Patton punched Dee’s arm, glaring at him in adoring frustration. Deceit yelped, holding onto his arm as if he was hurt.

“What was that for?!” Patton fixed a fake glare at him.

“I could ask you the same thing!” Deceit giggled, ruffling Patton’s hair.

“Scaring away the boys after mine.” Patton huffed, stomping a foot on the carpet and fixing his hair.

“No, no, no. First off, none of that thinking. The whole hangout is to become friends, not DATE. Second off, you are not my father!” The two bickered back and forth for a few minutes before Patton had to break it.

“I best be joining him, it would be rude to make him wait too long.”

“He deserves it.”

“What he deserves is a chance, like he gave me. Plus, I may finally gain a friend other than you and the dark sides, Dee.” Deceit’s face softened considerably.

“Be safe.”

“I will.” Patton nodded, before hugging Deceit quickly and heading down to the commons. Patton stopped halfway down to see what he never thought he would get to. He had only gotten to see the mess it created. Movie Night. Virgil smiled gently, albeit a little awkwardly, which was quite mutual for Patton. He would have to get used to spending more time in the commons. Virgil shifted, still feeling uncomfortable with interacting with Morality.

“I thought a movie night might be the best way to get to know each other… I’m sorry if this is awkward... “ Morality huffed softly, before flopping on the couch next to him.

“I don’t know much about friendships, but I think this is how it always is in the beginning. How about I help us both out? I appreciate you trying to be friendly, or even wanting a friendship with me.  Just know that I am not gonna open up so soon. I will also make an effort, but I still feel uncomfortable sharing any deep dark secrets, or anything like that.” Virgil nodded, given confidence.

“I don’t expect any of that for you yet. I only want to have a good time, and get to know you better… I realized that I judged you just because based on what Logan and Roman said about you.” Morality tensed at the mention of the two but relaxed after a deep breath.

“Well, how about we get to know each other a bit first before we get into the movie. Might as well get that over with.” Virgil nodded. They sat in silence, thinking about suitable questions before Virgil spoke up.

“So… I’ve been wondering this… You know all of our names since we’ve used them a lot around each other, but why don’t you use Deceit’s name? It looked like you two were pretty close... ” Patton hummed, looking at his lap.

“I don’t use his name because I don’t know it. He knows mine though… We agreed a long time ago that I was more likely to mess us and end up telling you his real name before he’s ready. If he ever is.” Virgil nodded, taking it in.

“I guess that makes sense... “ 

“Why’d you judge me so quickly?” Virgil winced, feeling the guilt all over again. He cleared his throat, not looking at Morality.

“I guess it’s just what I’ve always done. I take full responsibility for my actions, of course, but it was partly Roman and Logan. They just ignored you and said you were 'bad', especially for Thomas. I have always made it my goal to not care. It was what kept Thomas calm, ignore his fears. The fears I bring up. If I ignored it, it would go away. I never should have done that to you, though…”

“You shouldn’t push away your emotions, Virgil…” Virgil looked up at him, confused at the light tone. Not something you'd expected when you just told someone why you hated them for years.

“Huh?” Patton smiled.

“You shouldn’t push away that anxiety. It is unhealthy to do so. Plus it is literally your function, so I doubt it does any good for you…” 

“Well, how can I deal with it?”

“I can teach you. Just like Thomas. I think most of the stress he’s been feeling is also because of you. He’s feeling the pushed down anxiety building up. You need to let that out in little bursts, as to not harm you.” Virgil sat in thought. He’d never thought Morality to be so kind, yet so knowledgable. He was soft, empathetic. He wasn't "Silly" or "unnecessary" as Roman and Logan said before. In fact, he was sort of a nice version of Logan and Roman combined. It was nice, for a change. Virgil took a deep breath.

“Ok. How do I do that?” Morality’s smile brightened. 

“Let go.” His anxiety flared, his reflexes instantly trying to push it down.

“Let go?!” Morality nodded. He grabbed Virgil’s hands, squeezing them.

“I can help you through it. Just let go, ok?” Virgil hesitated, before nodding. He let the wall crumble, the rush of anxiety crashing over him. His breathing and heart increased tenfold, all he hears is the blood rushing in his ears. Black spots cover his vision, causing him to panic more. The only thing grounding him were the hands gently squeezing his. Suddenly, the hand lifted his right hand, right to a beating heart. It was calm, opposed to his thundering one. He could feel Morality take exaggerated breaths. It took Virgil a moment to realize it was a pattern. He attempted to follow it, messing up many times before he can even get the first step. After a few minutes of trying, he hears a soothing voice counting. He desperately clings to the voice, and the hand in his as he shudders to take the breaths. After many minutes, or maybe only a few, Virgil couldn’t tell, he was able to breathe. Everything came down, yet they still did the exercise, even after he was back to normal. Virgil let go of Morality’s hands, flopping to rest against the couch.

“Welp… Movie night is ruined.” Morality laughed, a bit louder and more relaxed than his normally shy giggles, raising Virgil’s spirit.

“How about a sleepover instead?” Virgil nodded halfheartedly, already feeling his eyelids droop from the lack of energy. This is exactly why he kept it in… but then again, it wasn’t as bad as it usually was. He had someone there to help him. He was already too tired to fight his sleepiness, the last thing he felt being a blanket resting over him.

 

* * *

(Bonus)

Virgil fought his eyelids open, the light shining down on him helped him tremendously. He was disoriented, not used to the harsh light. He sat up slowly, realizing he was still in the living room. He looked around, eyes landing on Morality, who was fast asleep next to him. He was curled up as if to protect himself. Virgil knew he probably didn’t have a good time falling asleep in such a vulnerable place, but didn’t want to move Virgil after the panic attack. Virgil smiled, happy at the progress he accomplished. Was it progress? It felt like it. He got up carefully, not wanting to jostle the side who probably just got to sleep not too long ago. He made his way to the kitchen, seeing the usual coffee on the counter. Ok, he must have literally just fallen asleep when Virgil got up. He looked at the clock. 5:43 AM. Logan should be up in about 15 minutes. 

He slid the cookie jar as quietly as he could, carefully taking a chocolate chip cookie out. He warmed up some milk in the microwave (all the while wincing and watching for movement from Morality, though he seemed like he was out cold), and placed it on a napkin. He stretched, his back feeling stiff from sleeping on the couch.  _ Thank goodness I’ve never actually slept on the couch before _ . Virgil’s eyes wander to Morality. He had been the one to make sure of that. 

Virgil smiled, enacting his plan. As carefully as he could, he picked Morality up, carrying him to his faded looking room. He struggled to pull his covers back, but soon situated him comfortably within it, surrounded by Thomas’ old stuffed animals.  He smiled, remembering most of them, some must have been before Virgil took form. Virgil took the time to actually look around, laughing at the photos, and the old notebooks of angsty writing. He was slightly concerned at the dull look of the room, seemingly faded... almost neglected looking. He let it slide, for now, continuing to look around. He soon tore his inspection away upon seeing a certain book on his desk. His diary. He wouldn’t peek, no matter how tempting it was. He wouldn’t violate his brand new friend’s privacy. He quickly made his way downstairs before the sight could tempt him anymore, bringing the milk and cookie back up. Taking a sticky note (and avoiding any glimpse of the book) and wrote a short note. After placing the cookie and milk on the bedside table, he took Morality's glasses off. He stuck the sticky note next to the glasses, before leaving quietly, shutting the door.

_ I just figured out how much _

_ It sucks to sleep on the couch. _

_ Might as well save you from the pain _

_ As you have done for me many times _

_ Sleep well. -Virgil _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot Woot! Be expecting more fluff very soon. At the very least, two chapters of more fluff. Then maybe I will finally get to the real plot.
> 
> I also have come up with an idea for another series (unrelated to this fic). It would have at least two books, and be Patton angst. I may not do it soon, because I have this fic, but for future reference, I need some help. I want to actually do a romantic ship (revolving around Patton) because what I plan just makes it like 10 times sadder. I need help choosing which one: Logicality (My personal fav), Moceit/Patceit (My second fav), Moxiety, or Royality. (I don't think I'll be adding any more dark sides other than Deceit.)
> 
> (I may add background relationships, but I most likely won't be good at it xD)


	10. Patton and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton isn't having the best day, but luckily, he has a friend to help him out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fluff chapter! My poor baby boi Patton is just insecure and scared and hurt, but he has Virge to help him out. Enjoy! 
> 
> I first had the chapter name as "Friendship Blooming" but after writing a bit (you will see) I realized that the children's book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" fits better.
> 
> Right when I thought I was getting used to calling Patton, 'Morality' with anyone who doesn't know his name, I find 3 accidental Patton's. I am messing up my own formula
> 
> (The endnotes has info about my little idea I asked help for, and what the next chapter will be about!)

Things had been going great for Virgil. He felt like he was making a lot of progress, Morality seemed to be opening up more and more each day they hung out. Somedays Morality didn't feel up to it, and others he was all for. After several movie nights and simple quiet nights in each others company, they had gotten to the point where they were spouting off jokes every now and then. Virgil, as bad as he felt for thinking this, knew he was cracking Morality’s shell. Why would he feel bad, you say? Because he only knows this by seeing all the times he retreats when Roman or Logan come into the room. Morality would instantly look away, curl into himself as they glared at him. Virgil knew he shouldn’t feel a sense of pride while his friend was being tormented, but he could tell exactly how much progress he’d accomplished.

It took a bit of time, but soon Morality was much more comfortable hanging out in the commons, instead of tensely watching the stairs for danger. Virgil took immense pride in his brand new friend, the strides they were able to make do to their normal hang out.

Now here they were, with yet another stride in their friendship. Baking. Virgil had found out that Morality had an affinity for baking (He already knew this, from the cookbook page he still had, and the cookie jar always being full, but he didn't mind faking it). He could cook fine, but his favorite thing to do was bake. So here Virgil was, sitting on the counter, totally clueless on what to do while Morality buzzed around the kitchen, absolutely happy to do all the work. He did let Virgil lick the spoon after he was finished, which made him feel slightly like a child, but Virgil wasn’t complaining. While Morality worked, Virgil remembered that certain recipe in his pocket. He reached in, pulling out the carefully folded paper, unfolding it gently as if it was old and fragile. He looked at Patton as he placed the chocolate cookies into the oven. He cleared his throat, getting Morality’s attention after he set the timer.

“I’ve been meaning to give this to you, ever since it happened… sorry, it took so long.” Morality looked at it, eyes widening. Virgil could swear he saw tears well in his eyes, making him panic. 

“O-oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” He was cut off, being pulled off of the counter, and enveloped in a hug. It took him a minute to register what was going on, before hugging back. He rocked Morality slightly as he allowed him to cry on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil whispered soft reassuring words, waiting for him to calm down. After a few moments, Morality was left sniffling and hiccuping. Virgil smiled, laughing internally at the cute squeaks that were Morality’s hiccups. Morality wiped the last of his tears with the cardigan sleeve around his shoulders, smiling embarrassedly. 

“Sorry, I didn’t *SQUEAK* know where that came from… *SQUEAK* just… I thought I lost it forever... “ Morality hugged it to his chest, swaying as a child wood while holding a stuffed animal. His body would jump every time a squeaky hiccup tore from his throat. Virgil smiled to assure him further.

“It is fine, I don’t mind.” They were both cut off when the timer rang, causing both to jump from their spots. Morality quickly placed the recipe carefully in his pocket, before grabbing an oven mitt. Virgil hops onto the counter again, getting lost in thought while swinging his legs subconsciously. 

He was torn out of his thoughts as a scream sounded through the room, followed by a crashing sound. His head snapped towards the sound, seeing Morality shuddering on the floor, the pan of cookies across the floor. Then Virgil saw it. A spider. 

“GET IT AWAY FROM ME!” Virgil quickly grabbed a glass from behind him and a paper plate. Tilting the plate and cup, he guided it onto the plate, trapping it with the cup. He made sure to keep it away from Morality, who was watching the spider the entire time, scooching back a tiny bit everytime it got close. Virgil opened the window with one hand (with some struggling) and carefully slid it out on the windowsill, closing the window and locking it for extra measure. He looked back at Morality, who was still on the ground, shaking like a leaf. He knew exactly how that felt. He knelt down to the shaking side, hands up to show he wasn’t going to hurt him. Morality took a few deep breaths, using the help of Virgil to stand up. He slouched sadly, looking down at the mess.

“I ruined it!” He stooped down, starting to pick the cookies up, the previous panic causing him to forget that they were just in the oven. He basically threw it as he yelped. Virgil took Morality’s hand carefully hand and guiding it to the sink, turning on the water to cold. Normally, he would probably be annoyed at all the trouble he had to go through, but for some reason, he didn't have it in him to be annoyed at the side. Instead, he was left with concern.  _Well, that's new..._

“Sorry I’m such a burden… Today is not my day”. Virgil glanced at his friend, seeing the pain in his eyes, the insecurities running through his head. Virgil decided that he would have none of that.

“It’s fine. We all have bad days from time to time… panic can make us do some crazy things, I would know.” Virgil winked at him. Morality rolled his eyes and huffed. He grabbed a clean washcloth, getting it wet and giving it to Morality to wrap around his hand. He guided him to the counter, before grabbing the broom.

“I’ll take care of this.” In literally less than five minutes, they had completely switched positions. Virgil threw the cookies away, turned the oven off and placed the used bowls and pans away. He wiped his brow (though he wasn’t even sweating) and looked at Morality. He was lost in thought, still cradling his hand in the washcloth. His hiccups had returned, making him jump slightly, though he seemed unaware. Virgil smirked mischievously as an idea popped into his head. Very carefully as to not bring attention to himself, he used two fingers to tickled Morality’s arm. He instantly shrieked, jumping and scooching away from the touch. 

Virgil burst into laughter, holding onto the counter to keep his balance. Morality huffed, throwing the rag at Virgil, hitting him in the face. Virgil startled, looking up as he wiped away some tears. He smirked as Morality frowned at him in a childish glare, complete with a huff and arms crossed.

“It’s not funny!” His voice betrayed his amusement, no matter how hard he tried to act mad.

“Hey, I was just helping you get rid of those hiccups!” Morality paused, waiting for another to shake his body, just to prove him wrong. When none came, Morality blew a raspberry at Virgil, completing his little childish tantrum. 

Morality froze at the sound of angry footsteps descending the stairs. Virgil looked at the stairs, feeling annoyance and anger bubble deep inside him. He looked back at Morality, worried about his friend, only to see him no longer there. He turned back as Logan entered the commons, looking at Virgil through the kitchen breakfast bar. 

Logan looked disheveled, his hair unnaturally sticking up in multiple places, his polo untucked and tie loose. He had bloodshot eyes and bags under his eyes. He looked around, causing Virgil to narrow his eyes.

“If you are looking to yell at him, he’s not here. Yell at me instead.” Logan crossed his arms.

“I still don’t understand your decision to stick up for him, but Roman and I do not appreciate him spending time down here. This instance is proof, he disrupts the peace. You should know better than anyone that sleep is essential.”

“Ah, so that is why it took you so long to actually come down here?”

"I was willing to be let it go, but it appears I couldn't go back to sleep afterward," Logan growled.

“It was an accident and my fault. I dropped the pan because it was too hot. I’m an idiot, I know. You can go now.” Logan narrowed his eyes at Virgil. Virgil knew he wasn’t going to believe him, as Virgil is literally self-preservation. There is no way Virgil would ever attempt to take a hot pan out without an oven mitt or any protective gear. He puffed, taking a step forward.

“You better watch out.” Virgil adopted a sneer, restraining himself from hissing at Logan.

“Is that a threat?”

“No. Well, at least, not from me. It's a warning. Morality will end up hurting you. You will see why we keep away from him.”

“What happened to make you hate him so much?!” Virgil was getting sick and tired of the vague hints of a secret past. Yet again, though, the question was dodged. Logan left without another word, stomping up the stairs. Virgil started to panic, thinking he was going to yell at Morality, until he felt smaller arms wrap around his middle, a face pressed into his back, and more tears soaking into his hoodie. He turned around, making sure the arms were not disturbed with the move, and saw Morality hugging him.

“No one’s ever stood up for me like that before..." Virgil raised his eyebrows at that.

“Not even Deceit?” Morality shook his head.

“He would always get revenge in little ways, not actually confront anyone.” Virgil nodded, hugging back. After some hesitation, he laid his head on Morality’s soft curls. He felt extremely overprotective, almost like one would for a younger brother. He came to an agreement in his head: He’d protect this side from the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my boi Virgil. I am really excited about the next chapter that I literally just thought of while writing the ending of this chapter. I can't keep it to myself, so, BE PREPARED FOR:
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER: Virgil and Deceit bonding time.
> 
> (Another fluff chapter, with Virgil and Deceit being protective bois. I already can't wait to write it. This next chapter is going to be most likely the last fluff chapter before we get into the more plot filled, although these fluffs could be considered plot, due to the fact that it's growing their relationship, but EH.)
> 
> I wanted to clear some things up with the end note of the last chapter. This new idea for Patton angst that I asked for ships, is gonna be a totally diff AU than this one. It is going to be totally unrelated to this, and Patton won't be an outcast... but still lots of angst for the poor boi. Right now, I have 3 for Moxiety, and 2 for Logicality. I think Moxeity has it, so I have this angsty fics, one with platonic best friend Moxiety, and another one with Romantic Moxiety. Woot! (I won't be posting this new fic any time soon, as I still have this. I may, however, get a plan in place and pre-write some of it for when I feel up to it. I may start posting it towards the end of this one, but who knows.)
> 
> Why are my endnotes getting longer with every new chapter?


	11. Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman make Patton cry, so the protective beans, Virgil and Deceit, decided to get payback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! I wrote this all in one day. I am proud of myself. You should probably expect less and less frequent updates. Kinda hard to explain, my school has something during January where it is basically a relaxation period where you choose classes the teachers make, like a survival class, a classical reading class, and a relaxation class (all my classes) There is literally no homework, so that is why I always had so much time to write. Today starts the first day of the actual semester, so I will most likely be busy, and lacking in inspiration.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this fluffy chapter with Virgil and Deceit!

Virgil was proud of his new friend. So far, Morality had been in four other discussions. Virgil took pride in seeing Logan and Roman’s expressions when Morality actually helped Thomas. He could see they were breaking their prejudices, but they were too stubborn to let it show. Thomas had been improving, and had been psyched about it. He was happier than he has been in years, and he started becoming more jovial, more peppy, and more friendly. His friends noticed, and told Thomas they liked the change. With Morality suggesting more time for relaxing instead of overloading Thomas (and themselves), everyone was feeling relaxed. They realized quickly that their muscles have always been too tense, and they were all always exhausted. Of course, they didn’t quite realize it until they woke up more refreshed than ever before. Roman was more adventurous, and Logan was more productive. Virgil had less anxiety, which he was sure was mostly from the constant support and help from Morality.

It couldn’t last forever though. Even though the evidence was in front of them, and they saw the positive change, Logan and Roman were still stubborn, and bitter towards Morality. This was fine for a while. Morality himself began to gain more confidence and was more fearless in the face of the other two. He was out in the commons more, but only with Virgil. Things were looking good for their friendship too. It grew, finally being able to have sleepovers now without either one feeling too awkward or uncomfortable. They would talk and relax and share their interests. Virgil was finally able to spend more time in Morality’s room and got a better look than he did before. Even though it was progressing, Virgil could still tell Morality was wary, and he knew it would take a while for him to truly open up. Virgil would know Morality trusted him completely when he shared his name. Although a bit saddened at not gaining his full trust, he was fine with where they were at the moment. With the way things were going, he would hear it soon… hopefully. As for the Dark Sides, and Deceit, he heard nothing of them. Deceit was never in Patton’s room when he was there, and if Virgil would spot him, he would sink out. He asked Morality one night, and he simply said,

“He still doesn’t quite trust you. As for not being in my room, he usually always is. He’s just keeping an eye on you from the shadows, just in case.” This left Virgil on edge for the rest of the night, and for some weeks whenever he was in Morality's room. It took him some time, but he soon relaxed, realizing that Deceit wouldn’t confront him unless he hurt Morality, which he did not plan on doing. Virgil was actually happy in life. Things were getting better, better than he could have imagined. Until it didn’t.

It happened during a discussion. Virgil could tell that Logan and Roman were especially irritable this time, which meant a lot of yelling and patronizing Morality. Virgil and Thomas tried to redirect the hate away from him, but there wasn’t much they could do most times. Morality was fine, at least, he seemed fine. Virgil could see his lip tremble sometimes, and see him subtly shrinking in on himself as he used to do. His fingers twitched from time to time, obviously fighting the urge to sink out. He held strong, though, and stood his ground. This, of course, surprised both Logan and Roman, never seeing Morality act this way. This caused them to increase their attack tenfold, yet he was unyielding. Virgil was proud, thinking that he would be fine, that he could stand it until it was over. Everything was fine. Until it wasn’t.

They got on the topic of Disney, Logan insisting that they cut out Disney for more work. This, of course, set Roman off, listing the reasons why Disney movies were so great. They were in the middle of a heated battle when timid Morality spoke up.

“I agree with Roman…” Both snapped their mouths shut, glaring at Morality. Even Roman, who Morality just stood up for.

“And what is your reasoning?” Logan scoffed. “This is why I despise emotions. They obscure Logic!” He grumbled, whispering but clearly loud enough for everyone to hear. Morality shrunk into himself more, flinching at the tone, but continued.

“There are many good things about Disney that could help Thomas… There are some good morals and lessons you can learn from.” Morality’s eyes lit up, and he continued excitedly. Virgil could feel the dread pool in his stomach. The friendship had been good for both, but maybe not as much for Morality. He lost that wariness sometimes and had become maybe  _too_  comfortable with his surroundings sometimes, no matter who it was.

“Just like my favorite movie! Winnie the Pooh! They have some great morals and lessons that Thomas can learn, and enjoy. Not to mention that Owl reminds me of you, Logan, and-” Morality cut himself off, suddenly realizing just who he was talking too. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get back into his little shield before they rebuked him. Roman laughed loudly, comically patronizing, and Logan just scoffed, looking at Patton as if he was a child who needed scolding.

“You compared me to a fictional character?!” Thomas and Virgil looked at each other in panic. Thomas tried to reach out to Logan to calm him.

“Lo, you are fictional-”

“I am not from some stupid cartoon! You need to get yourself out of fiction, Morality. This is the real world. Nothing in fictional worlds could possibly help in ANY situations! If you aren’t going to be helpful, you can just leave. This is why we never wanted you in the first place.” Without another word, Morality sunk out, tears streaming down his face. Roman wiped his tears from laughing, trying to collect himself.  
“What an idiot. Of all Disney films to choose, of course, it would be the most useless one.”

“Indeed.” Virgil had just about enough of this. He sunk out quickly, leaving Thomas with Logan and Roman. Logan cleared his throat, looking back at Thomas.

“Good, now that those two are out of the way, we can get back to business.” He stopped, seeing Thomas’ slightly angry face, but mostly sad. He took a shuddering breath.

“No, we are done. I don’t want to hear any more.” Roman and Logan looked at each other in confusion.

“Don’t you still need help, Thomas? I can help. Are you optimal?” Thomas gave a choked laugh, looking at him as if he was crazy.

“Optimal?! You literally hurt my heart’s feelings! Of course, I am not ‘OK’” Logan took a step back, looking at Roman for help. Roman looked just as helpless.

“Don’t you understand that every time you hurt him, you hurt me? He is a part of me after all.” Logan and Roman looked down in embarrassment. Thomas slumped a tiny bit.

“Just go.” Without another word, they sunk down, leaving Thomas feeling down.

 

* * *

 

 

Virgil sank down a bit after Morality, rising into his room to comfort his friend. He was pleasantly surprised to see Deceit already there, hugging Morality tight as he cried into a pillow. They made eye contact, both having angry but concerned looks. Virgil gingerly sat on Morality’s other side, placing a hand on his knee to let him know he was there. Much to his surprise, Morality dropped the sopping pillow and flung himself at Virgil, effectively switching from Deceit's comfort to Virgil's. Virgil took a second to register, before returning his hug and swaying him back and forth. Deceit rubbed his back in comforting circles. They sat like that for about fifteen minutes, before they could feel him relax, his squeaky, kitten-like hiccups lessen, and his tears dry up. In no time flat, he was asleep. Virgil and Deceit made eye contact. Deceit’s look just screamed protective fury, obviously translating to, “ _If you wake him up and remind him of his misery, I will kill you myself.”_ Virgil understood completely and continued to rock his friend in their embrace.

They waited for another good fifteen minutes, making sure Morality was asleep enough that they could talk quietly without him stirring. Deceit was the first to talk, breaking the silence.

“I saw what happened.” he had a bit of a hiss, one Virgil never heard before, except for when he was protective of the side in his arms. Virgil nodded, easily matching his fury. He smirked smugly when Deceit let his surprise shine through. He quickly dropped it, instead adopting a sad look.

“I am sorry…” Deceit raised an eyebrow at him.

“For what?”

“I caused this… The friendship we have caused him to lose the usual shell he has in the commons and with Thomas…” Deceit shook his head, smiling gently. Virgil kept his shock on the inside, having never seen the look directed at him.

“It wasn’t your fault. I saw how you and Thomas constantly tried to direct the hate away from him. Not to mention you came to comfort him. You’ve been doing good on your word, I’ll admit. For the friendship you’ve shown him, I will concede with you. As long as you continue to be his friend, and treat him as an equal, you have my respect… and my trust.” Virgil smiled back, genuinely appreciative.

“Thank you…” Virgil paused before a thought crossed his mind. He smirked, an idea popping into his head.

“Now… how about we get some payback?” Deceit smirked, nodding gleefully.

“That sounds like an **awful** idea.” Virgil slowly placed Morality on the bed, covering him and replacing himself with a stuffed animal. Morality disliked the change but didn’t wake. Deceit smiled at the sight, before turning to Virgil. His eyes harden in impish intent.

“I believe we should discuss this in my room, as to not disturb him. Let’s get our payback, shall we?”

Virgil smirked as well, nodding.

“We shall.”

 

* * *

 

 

Logan stormed out of the commons, slamming his door. He panted as flashes of what recent events flew through his mind. _Roman thinks that I’m dull? That I am not “Sparkly” enough?! Who needs sparkly when you have cold hard facts! I have no time for “sparkly” like those frivolous stickers he puts all over work! They hinder performance!_ Logan huffed, pacing the floor of his room. He only stops when he feels a headache coming on, rubbing his temples. _I guess I should just get some work done to calm my mind…_

He flops in his chair, pushing away the thought as he picked up a pencil and got writing.

 

* * *

 

 

[4:38 AM]

Logan stares at the clock. He hadn’t expected to work throughout all of the night, but he couldn’t help himself. Every time he got into a calm, relaxing pattern, his argument came back up into his mind and forced him deeper into his work. He rubbed his eyes, leaning back in his office chair. He might as well get a snack, then take a nap till his usual time. He might be tired throughout the day, but he didn’t want to ruin his sleep schedule completely.

Logan stretched as he got up, groaning as a joint popped. He absentmindedly thought back to his argument. He sighed. _Maybe I should find a way to say sorry to him…_ As he finished that thought, he opened his door and walked out. And was INSTANTLY covered in glitter. Logan stood there, totally stone face for a few seconds, like a windows computer crashing.

“ **_ROMAN!!!!_ **”He tried desperately to dust himself off as Roman opened his door. He instantly snorted, taking a quick picture before bursting out in laughter.

“That is the best thing I’ve ever seen!” He continued to laugh, ignoring Logan’s glare.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Roman paused, taking some deep breaths.

“Hmm? I didn’t do this!” Logan threw his arms in the air, glitter falling like a shower.

“WHO ELSE WOULD HAVE THIS MUCH GLITTER! YOU DID SAY YOU WANTED ME TO BE MORE ‘SPARKLY’, BUT THIS IS JUST IMMATURE!” Roman gasped, offended. They went off on another argument, only breaking it up when Logan went to take a shower. Roman ignored how long he took in there, even though he still hadn’t taken one yet. He’d just have to take one in the afternoon.

 

* * *

 

Afternoon came, and things calmed down. Logan and Roman hadn’t talked since, but it’s not that Roman cared. He ignored the whole argument and went on about his day. He spent most of his time in the imagination, but spending an entire day adventuring, especially without showering earlier made Roman a tiny bit disgusted. A prince could not live this way. It was about 6 PM when he finally got the bathroom. He sighed, before getting everything ready for a long relaxing shower (He had to look perfect, which took a lot of products, after all).

Roman sighed when he got out of the shower, the steam fogging up the mirror. He took a hand over it, to clear the image only to freeze. His hair. Was Neon green. Roman snatched his shampoo and conditioner, checking. Indeed, there was dye in there. How he didn’t notice, he has no clue. He snapped his pajamas on, not bothering to actually put them on with him being so angry. He stormed out of the bathroom, screaming.

 

* * *

 

Virgil and Deceit held in their giggles as Roman passed, seeing the vibrant green hair. Virgil shut the remaining crack as quietly as possible. When it was finally shut, and the shouts from downstairs could be heard, they finally let out their laughter.

“‘Green is not a creative color!’” They sat there for five minutes, laughing, and finally high fived when their laughter was dying down.

“That was the best thing I have ever seen!” Deceit sat on Morality’s bed, who Deceit sent down to the dark sides for the day to cheer up. Virgil agreed, flopping next to him.

“Never tell Morality about this one. He would never approve, but I’m glad we did it. They deserved it.” Virgil chuckled nodding. They lapsed into a silence that was no longer that of awkward acquaintances, but more like friends who just learned of common interest. It took a while before Virgil broke it, having been silently thinking the entire time.

“I’ve noticed… You aren’t lying around me anymore. I thought you could only lie?” Deceit snuffed, not looking at Virgil.

“I already told you. I trust you. And no, I am not forced to lie. It gets tiring having to lie all the time. I’d rather talk normally during my days off.” Virgil nodded, smiling. He had just gained a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially used up all my fluff ideas, so I guess it's time for more plot next chapter!
> 
> Props to anyone who recognized that "Don't hug me I'm scared" reference. Thought it fitting, since Virgil says it in the series xP
> 
> (I didn't realize how long this was until editing it here, goodness!)


	12. Change Your Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm certain I don't need you... After all, I'm every color of the light... but you're a part of me, the part I always have to repress."
> 
> "Please stop helping them. You only make things worse. That's what you do. I make things better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pretty sure my Roman died this past week... he's all good now, it took some songs to wake him up tho. Steven universe helped, I actually changed the plan for these next two chapters because of it.
> 
> I don't know if you watch Steven Universe, but Change Your Mind just added to my friend and my Steven Universe Sander Sides AU... Logan as white, Roman as yellow, Virgil as Blue, and Patton as pink. Anyways, because of that, I thought the title might be fitting for what is gonna happen. This chapter is basically split in two, more about that in the endnotes!
> 
> The summary is all of what White says in Steven universe...
> 
> (I absolutely love Rainbow 2.0, and the "She's GONE" :D)

Logan growled under his breath, pushing his glasses up as he rubbed his tired eyes, sitting back in his chair. He had been working again. He knew it was unhealthy, but it wasn’t as if he was going to admit it. His whole body ached for the bed, but he refused. He could get to sleep when he was done. Even so, he couldn’t quite get his body to cooperate. He sighed, his body feeling weighted whenever he attempted to sit back up.

“A little break wouldn’t hurt.” He ran a hand through his purple hair. Yes, purple. Logan groaned, just thinking about it. Roman had convinced Thomas to dye his hair, since he couldn’t physically change his original form, meaning he would be forced to have that hideous green hair for months until it would come out. Logan was displeased with this idea, but since Roman wouldn’t stop hounding him about how it was Logan’s fault, he acquiesced. That didn’t mean that he liked. Quite the opposite. How were people to take him seriously if he had this ridiculous mess of color on his head?

Logan breathed out through his nose, feeling a headache coming on from his anger. _Some tea would be nice…_ He slowly got up, ignoring his shaky legs as he made his way to the commons. He turned on the kitchen light, surprised to see a cup of steaming tea already there. He slowly made his way to it, picking up the sticky note that was left with it.

_Don’t overwork yourself._

_You’ll give yourself Anxie_ **_tea_ **

_;) -Morality_

Logan stared for a couple seconds, his slow brain working it’s hardest to register what was on the page. He groaned lowly, absentmindedly putting it in a pocket as he picked up the tea. He’s too tired to think too hard about it. He just wanted to get back to work. When he arrived back at his desk, plopping down onto his chair, still careful with the tea. He took a sip, sighing happily as he continued his work. He took occasional small sips, which turned into full sips, and soon it’s gone. He frowns into the cup but quickly shrugged it off. After a few minutes, he felt drowsy. More so than usual. _My tea?_ He thought as he looked at the mug one last time before collapsing into much-needed rest.

 

* * *

 

 

Logan woke with a start, jumping as he the chair tipped, the jump causing it to fall to the floor. He groaned drowsily as he rubbed his head, realizing slowly he didn’t have a headache as he usually would if he woke up at his normal time. He glanced up, doing a double take at seeing the light filter through his window. He jumped up to his feet, fixing his crooked glasses as he threw the curtains to the side, looking through. It was light out. It shouldn’t be. He rushed to his computer, turning it on from sleep mode and looking at the time. It was about one in the afternoon. He froze up.

He looked at the tea, still wide-eyed, then down to his pocket. He slowly pulled out the same little sticky note and reread it. Thoughts rushed through his head, but only one stuck out from the rest.

_Morality made the tea_

He felt slightly disgusted. He clearly put something in that tea. He must have drugged it or something, that kept him unconscious. Who knew what Roman or _Morality_ did while he was out. Not to mention, thanks to Morality, his work had been impeded. He grew furious, placing the sticky note back in his pocket, and picking up his laptop and the cup, tucking the laptop safely under his arm. He opened his door with his free hand, venturing to the door no one bothered to really look at, even though they’ve passed it many times. He knocked on the door, a bit too harshly, but Logan did not care. He ignored the gasp that came from the inside, or the shuffle of feet as he was still brewing with anger. The door opened, just enough to see the side who opened it.

Although Morality looked calm, with that ever-present foolish smile of his plastered on his face, Logan could see the tremor in his body as he looked at Logan.

“Hey, L-Lo! How’s it going? Got a good nights rest?” Logan narrowed his eyes, staring at him icily. He ignored the wince the emotional side gave.

“Yes. Thanks to you.” He growled out, leaving Morality baffled.

“Well, that’s good-”

“Do you know how much work I’ve lost because of you?” He threw the mug at Patton, who caught it with a dull thud, fumbling it a couple times before he clutched ahold of it near his chest. Logan continued his angry rant, opening up the laptop.

"Why did you do it Morality? What did you do while I was out? What did you do to me? Not to mention, I could have had about twenty-four more pages by now!" Logan gestured at the page, watching Morality lean closer to take a look. Logan didn't notice his giggled as he went on.

"You impeded my progress, and therefore are putting Thomas in danger!  Do you ever-” Logan was surprised to be interrupted by the soft-spoken side.

“Uh, Lo? Buddy? You may want to check that ‘work’ again… It just looks like you were rambling facts." Logan blinked, turning it around to take a look. He read the last sentence he typed.

_“Dolphins have been trained to be used in wars”_

Logan blinked as Morality held in a giggle. He quickly covered it with a cough, before touching Logan’s arm. Logan looked down at his hand, then back up at the side, seeing genuine concern in his eyes.

“I could tell that you were overworking yourself, so I gave you herbal tea that was meant to relax you. You don’t do your best when you’re tired.” Logan blinked again, still dazed.

“I… I guess you are right.” Morality patted him on his arm, before smiling and closing the door. When the door was just a crack, he said softly.

“Have a good day, Logan.” The door clicked shut, Logan stumbled back a step from it, before walking back to his room as if on autopilot. He sat down, trying to register what just happened. As much as he hated to admit it, Morality was right.

_Morality was right_

Logan shook his head. He tried his best to forget it as a whole, instead, turning his attention on fixing his sleepy errors.

In the back of his mind, though, he knew he wouldn’t be able to forget this. It was nagging at the back of his mind. He tried his best to pay it no mind, ultimately forgetting it was even there… but it was. It would come back someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I am a child... what's your excuse?" (I love SU too much xD)
> 
> Btw... The angst is coming...
> 
> Can you guess what the second part is gonna be? :o
> 
> I actually drank tea while writing this :D I did not pass out though.
> 
> That fact is actually real, apparently, dolphins are used in wars. Who knew? (Logan did, for some reason)
> 
> In other news... I am really proud of myself. I am a Patton/Virgil kinda person, but I got the courage to sign up for a little game at our school during our lock in on Friday... It's literally a dad joke competition. Wish me luck! The pappy is getting prepared. (Any good puns for me? Please send some!)


	13. Forget Your Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We all must make sacrifices for the sake of our perfect empire!"
> 
> "Does this look perfect to you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are a bit confused about the summary, it's what yellow diamond says justifying her actions of hurting pink diamond.
> 
> This is the same day as the last chapter, btw!
> 
> Two chapters in one day? Literally one after the other? Woo!
> 
> TW: Yes, I can't believe it. Trigger warnings! There is fighting in this chapter! It's not graphic, Roman fights in his imagination.

Roman sighed, slumping onto the couch. He had quite the day in the imagination, saving a lovely princess, and defeated the dragon-witch once again in record time. He sighed, off in his own head as a Disney movie played in the background. He was rudely reminded why he came out in the commons in the first place, thanks to his stomach. He would have loved to have stayed in the imagination, simply ordering food there, but unfortunately, everything in the imagination was bland. Anything he summoned was never filling, and usually tasteless. So, if he wanted food, he’d have to make it.

That was the problem. Roman didn’t want to make anything. It was about one thirty in the afternoon, so dinner wouldn’t be for a while. He lamented silently, cursing fate itself for the constant need to eat and sleep. A prince shouldn’t be burdened with such things when he was out saving others! It was encumbering! He was about ten minutes into his rant (which he realized was out loud) when he heard a clink on the glass coffee table next to where he was lying. He took his arm that was laid across his eyes in anguish, looking up. In front of him was Morality, shuffling a bit, obviously nervous and avoiding Roman’s gaze. Roman glanced at the object on the table, to see a bowl of spaghetti. He looked back up as Morality spoke up.

“I was just making a late lunch, so, I thought you might like some… Extra cumin.” He chuckled awkwardly, cutting himself off with a cough when Roman said nothing, just continuing to stare. He smiled waveringly, crossing his arms as he walked towards the stairs. Before Roman could even think about what he was doing, he yelled out.

“WAIT!” Morality froze, turning to look at Roman, fear showing in his eyes. Roman winced internally, even though he’d seen it many times before. Roman floundered to find what he wanted to say, Morality waiting patiently.

“W-Why do you do it?” Roman watched his reactions closely, trying to figure out the puzzle that was Morality. Morality smiled, genuine and full of… adoration? Roman was lost in the look, almost missing the soft response.

“Because everyone deserves a little bit of kindness.” With that, he walked up the stairs, out of sight. Roman sat there, trying to sort through his feelings.

_He believes everyone deserves kindness. After all these years of hating him, I’d expect him to be a lot more like Hot Topic, pessimistic and way more aggressive to defend himself… and that look…_ He had seen that look many times. Except this look was different somehow. It was like the adoration he got from his subjects… but real. Now that he compared, he could see how dull it looked on his subjects. How fake, as if they weren’t truly adoring. Were they faking it? Or was it’s just the imagination's poor imitation? How had he not noticed it earlier?

He picked up the bowl, racing to his room. He placed it on his desk, before flinging open his closet door. A mirror on the wall shimmered, warping into the view of his kingdom. He walked through without another thought, ignoring the tingling sensation he got from it. He ignored the castle dwellers, picking up speed to the village. All it took was one thought, and beasts appeared, howling on the outskirts of the village. He needed to test something out, no matter how bad he felt for putting his subjects in danger. They would never find out.

He pulled out his sword as screams sounded in the town square, people finally noticing the beasts that made their way to the middle of town. He rushed forward, slashing the wolf away from a family as it pounced, standing defensively in front of them. It landed on the dirt with a thud, completely motionless. The other people hid from the remaining two wolves as they growled at Roman. He ushered the family away to cover, as the wolves began to circle him. Both of the wolves glared at Roman, their tense muscles preparing for an attack. One lunged, claws outstretched to shred. People screamed, seeing their prince in danger. Roman rolled out of the way, the wolf landing on the ground, skidding and slipping from the momentum, falling on his face. While it shook it's head as it tried to reorient himself, the other took his opportunity. It lunged at Roman, who deflected, kicking it away and stabbed it. It whined in pain, vainly attempting to get away before going limp. Roman lifted his sword from the wolf, barely regaining composure when the last wolf lunged, pinning Roman down. He quickly repositioned his sword as the wolf attempted to bite at him. It struggled against the blade at its neck, attempting to bite at Roman, it's jaws snapping mere centimeters from his face. Roman grit his teeth as he pushed against the wolf, slashing its neck in one quick motion off of him and to the side. He panted, sitting up and looking at the three dead wolves around him. He barely stood up and sheathed his sword when people surrounded him, cheering. He panted, sweat dripping on the ground as he looked around him at the faces.

He was right after all. It looked fake. He thought, that maybe with danger that wasn’t his usual quests, maybe they would actually adore him as Morality did. That if they didn’t give him a quest, knowing full well that he would succeed, that they would be surprised and give him that look. They didn’t. Roman was barely able to give a short speech to the people and rush away to his room before his thoughts consumed him. He gripped his desk, breaths coming quickly as he looked down at the spaghetti in front of him. He realized that day, that he had become too dependent on his imagination for the comfort and praise he needed… and that the imagination could not create true emotions, no matter how many beasts he takes down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you just love it when your Roman has been dead for the past week, then suddenly comes up with a chapter that has a fight scene, and deep emotions/emotional breakdown? I do too.
> 
> We are getting closer to the angst everyone!
> 
> More very soon!


	14. Meager Steps and Sickening Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman come up with a plan, and Virgil needs to talk with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, that chapter name though. Things get a little intense, so I will warn you now: There is fighting, as in a VERBAL ARGUMENT.
> 
> This chapter is a doozy, just saying now. I am surprised at how much I wrote in such a short time.
> 
> Enjoy >;D

Logan rubbed his eyes, looking back down at his computer.

“That can’t be right…” He sighed, absolutely done with everything. He regained his posture quickly out of habit, turning and staring out the window. He hated everything about this situation. Unfortunately for him, Morality showed some improvement in Thomas. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad to have Morality helping. He knew deep down this was always the case, I mean the whole reason he shunned Morality… well, the second reason he shunned Morality was that no one needed his emotions. They hurt Thomas before. They impeded his own work. That is fact, at least Logan thought so... but it seemed his own facts were going against him.

Thomas was brighter, acted better, and did better at his work. He was more motivated and inspired, taking better care of himself, and his choices improved. Logan had noticed all of it because of the fact that the mindscape got noticeably brighter, more aesthetically pleasing, and it somehow put him at ease. He himself had improved. He hated it. This all led to him being wrong. Logic was never wrong.

He sat up, an idea popping in his head. He thought through it for a couple seconds, before getting to work.

 

* * *

 

Roman wasn’t having that great of a time, as of late. His imagination was brighter, his room was too. More and more of what he loved showed up in his room. His mirror gained more sparkling jewels. His subjects seemed more real, and his entire imagination seemed to grow in its limits of what it could do. Random encounters were perfect for his quests, instead of knowing what he was going to slay, then going and do it with no hassle at all. He loved the new adrenaline boost he got from it all. What was so bad about this, though, was the reason everything was so much better.

At first, Roman was surprised. He’d never seen such a change as this since they discarded Morality, having to change the imagination due to- He shook his head, not wanting to go back to that. It seemed so arbitrary, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that it wasn’t at all. He knew Thomas was improving, the same time as the imagination. That could only mean one thing. And he didn’t want to think of it.

Roman strode into his library, scaring a few of the maids who were attending to it. He strode to his own personal section, tailored to both Logan and himself. He pulled out a large book, plopping it on the table by the fireplace. With a wave of his hand, the lock clicked open. He grabbed hold of it, heaving to open to the middle of the book, struggling to lift the weight of it. His eyes quickly flitted through the book about the mindscape. The manual that had information about everything dealing with every side and just any function of it in general. He flipped to his section, all the way to his imagination. He spent a couple hours just combing through the information, growling with increasing frustration at every line he had already read many times and memorized as a child. He stopped at a specific section. One he never dared to read, due to the same reason he is looking through it in the first place.

**_Morality and the Imagination_ **

Roman gulped, reading slowly through it.

_Morality, or the heart, is an important factor in the imagination. The host’s imagination depends solely on the host’s heart, which means motivation and inspiration. This can decide the strength of the imagination. The heart is his motivation. If he has a strong heart for being creative, the imagination will grow strong. The creative side and the heart must work together to achieve the highest creative possibilities. The heart fuels the imagination._

Roman ran a hand through his normally perfect hair. He closed the book, leaving it on the table as he leaned against it. With a snap, it appeared back in its place. His mind battled itself, not truly wanting to believe it, but a part of him tried to force him to. He searched desperately for a solution, something to justify the guilt he had, something to tell him that his guilt wasn't necessary. His head snapped up at knocking on his door in the mindscape, echoing only in his ears. He sighed, stepping away from the table and closing his eyes. He felt a slight breeze, before opening his eyes again to find himself in his room, just outside the closet. He opened the door, surprised to see Logan. He looked a bit exhausted and quite serious.

“I need to talk to you. I have a plan.”

 

* * *

 

Virgil was enjoying life to the fullest now. He and Morality had become very close, practically inseparable. At first, he felt like the third wheel, due to all the times Deceit was around Morality, but ever since their bonding moment, they had become close too. Virgil didn’t have as much work due to Morality, with Thomas becoming calmer and happier. His room was a little bit brighter, and Virgil felt light inside with all the support and help Morality gave him about letting it all go. He was currently in the commons with Morality, watching a Disney movie. He wasn’t that interested, too distracted by his phone, but Morality was watching intently. According to him, he has never seen a lot of Disney movies, since he was always scared to come into the commons. Virgil decided to show him, making it a regular occurrence. Virgil was glad it replaced his normal movie nights with Logan and Roman. Roman would always force them into it, all because they couldn’t agree on anything for Thomas. With Morality helping Thomas with those problems, he no longer was forced to appease Roman, and therefore able to do more of what  _he_ wanted. Speaking of which, his head perked up at feeling Morality scooch closer to him on the couch, pausing the movie as footsteps descended the stairs. Virgil sat up straighter, feeling Morality tense up. He placed himself slightly in front of him.

Logan and Roman stood in their usual spots, turned towards the two sides on the couch. They narrowed their eyes at Morality before Logan cleared his throat.

“We must talk, all of us including Thomas.” Virgil and Morality looked at each other, reluctantly parting as they got in their usual spots. They all sank into the real world, catching Thomas by surprise. He fell off the couch at the sudden appearance, pausing the show he was watching.

“Thomas. We need to have a talk.” Thomas got up slowly, walking up to the group, his smile apprehensive.

“Am… Am I in trouble?” Logan snorted.

“No, you are not. Roman and I have come up with a little proposition due to recent events concerning Morality.” The room got cold with tension, Virgil and Thomas looking at each other in worry, and Morality shook slightly, but with a sliver of hope in his eyes.

“We must concede that your… contributions have been helpful to Thomas as of late. We are willing to allow your input into the discussions more.” Morality lit up like a Christmas tree- no. Like the sun. Which was quickly drowned out by the shadow of Logan towering over him. He quickly shrank back behind his dark clouds.

“Only when we say. If we need you, we will call for you. Additionally,” Logan stood back straight, continuing as if he wasn’t just leaned threateningly over the poor side.

“As a sort of payment for your help, we won’t protest to you in the commons. Just as long as you **NEVER** do anything to hurt Thomas, do you understand?” Morality nodded slowly. Logan nodded to himself.

“Then it is settled.” With that, Logan and Roman sank out, Roman being uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, glancing quietly at Morality and Logan, seemingly conflicted the entire time. He glanced at Virgil as he was sinking out, causing him to sink down faster at the sight.

Virgil was furious. He had thought that they were getting closer, that they would see the improvement and realize their mistakes. They were just too stubborn, they wouldn’t admit their own faults. They both thought that they are the most important side, the only side that can possibly help Thomas in any capacity, yet even when evidence is staring them in the face, they ignore it. They bend it to their liking. Instead of realizing their mistreatment of Morality, they decide to use him?! _USE_ him as a tool? They basically are bribing him with better treatment to help Thomas, as if he would ever attempt to hurt him. Virgil sank out, ready to go scream at them when a hand stopped him. He was turned around, and suddenly had arms around his torso, squeezing the life out of him.

Virgil was mortified at the feeling of hot tears seeping through his shirt, biting off a growl.

“I am so sorry, you shouldn’t be a tool for them to use! They shouldn’t basically threaten you to act good or else they will continue their previous behavior! They shouldn’t-” He was cut off as Morality shook his head vigorously, Looking up at Virgil with the brightest smile he had ever seen.

“Thank you!” Virgil blinked rapidly as if blinded by the smile. The side in his arms started to hiccup, little squeaks escaping his lips.

“What?” Morality smiled up at him again, pure adoration and appreciation in his eyes.

“Thank you! If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have ever gotten to where I am now, Virgil!” Virgil rubbed his back in soothing circles, trying to string sentences together in his head.

“Morality, this is nothing, really. They shouldn’t be treating you as an object they can use and throw away!” Morality shook his head again.

“It’s a start, Virgil. They are starting to see my worth after years of ignoring me. All because of you.” He let out a happy sob as he buried his head back into Virgil’s hoodie. Virgil was left speechless as he simply ran a hand through his curls and rubbed his back.

 

* * *

 

Virgil shut Morality’s door quietly, huffing a breath. He felt bad for the guy. He thought that others using him was good. He sobbed and thanked Virgil over and over for achieving it. Virgil felt sick. It sat at the bottom of his stomach, slowly morphing into anger. He needed to talk. Now.

He took the stairs two at a time, seeing the two sides relaxing. He had moved Morality to his room when he heard them coming down, knowing that the side in his arms wouldn’t want them to see him so weak. He walked up to the coffee table, separating him from the two sides, who looked up at him.

Roman was lounging on the couch, while Logan was in the armchair, book in hand.

“Can we help you, Virgil?” Logan looked at him in concern and slight fear. Virgil looked between the two.

“Yes, you can. Tell me, why are you using Morality as an object?” Logan and Roman look at each other, a sudden flash of fear in their eyes before looking back at Virgil. Logan cleared his throat.

“Becuase that is what he is. He has proven to be useful, so we are using him” Virgil crossed his arms.

“That isn’t right at all! I know you two have another reason as to why you treat him like an animal and not a human. Why?! What did he do to you!” Logan stood up, slamming his book on the armrest.

“If you had known what he did, you would act the same way as we did.” Virgil raised his arms in anger.

“AND YET YOU WON’T TELL ME WHAT THE ACTUAL _FU_ **_CK HAPPENED?!”_ **Virgil grabbed at his throat, realizing his double voice kicked in through his anger. He looked up at the two, scared of their reaction. He’d only used it once, in the safety and solidarity of his own room, never in front of others.

Logan and Roman’s eyes widened, suddenly scrambling to get away from him.

“I thought we banished you” Roman whispered, summoning his sword and pointing it at Virgil. Virgil stumbled back at the sudden change, not used to the fear from the two, and the sword pulled on him. Confusion engulfed him as well as panic. _Banished me?_

“W-What?” He looked to Logan, who had fallen back to the couch in his panic. Logan’s eyes hardened as he stood up.

“GET OUT OF HERE! YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!!!” Logan shouted, the sound echoing throughout the entire house. Virgil quickly sunk out to his own room, rushing and locking the door. He placed his wooden chair underneath the handle for extra measure, closing his bathroom door as he hid in the bathtub, breathing heavily. _This is going to be a long night._ His brain supplied as he spiraled in a sea of panicked thoughts...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, new lore?! What is that?! I guess you will have to find out in later chapters what that is all about ;D.
> 
> Don't you love it when you thought you would have a pretty normal story, but Roman kicks down your door with more angst and more story that fits too perfectly? Thanks, Roman.
> 
> I'm not gonna say much more, but that it's getting there. Stay tuned for more.
> 
> I think this is my longest chapter yet. *Pat on the back*


	15. How It Started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil needs to talk. Things are revealed about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say as much as usual since it'll sorta be spoilers, so ima shut up from now on xP.
> 
> We will see if I can get another chapter during this weekend, but eh?
> 
> (Be prepared for a lot of endnotes my fam. I'm a Chatty Patty.)
> 
> (Don't mind any mistakes. It's not my best, and I'm tired xD)

Virgil sighed, slouching his back to the wall of the bathtub after his panic attack subsided. He was sure it was morning now, although, he wasn't quite sure. He was glad to have his own personal bathroom in his room. He didn’t feel like sharing any of counter space with Roman, with all of his “beauty products” even though their form changes with Thomas. Roman would probably be whining for a shower right now if Virgil was in that bathroom. He rolled his eyes, dangling his arms over the rim of it. He basically slammed his forehead on the ceramic edge, groaning while immediately regretting his choice. He could feel himself going back to his old ways, the walls building up around him, though he didn’t have it in him to care. To care that he didn’t care. He simply stared at a spot on the tub his forehead was resting on, not even focused on it.  _ What was he so upset about again? _  He was torn out of his dull thoughts by a knock. He didn’t even lift his head, nor flinch.

“Come in!” He yelled, loud enough to travel through the two closed doors. There was a rattling sound, before a chuckle.

“Kinda can’t when you have it locked kiddo.” Virgil involuntarily smiled at who it was, despite the reminder of  _ why  _ he locked it in the first place. He waved his hand weakly, letting it thud against the side of the tub as it fell back into place. The door opened, creaking a bit loudly. As much as Virgil hated loud noises, he needed some kind of alarm for his room. Plus, a creaky door kind of fit his style. The bathroom door opened, soft padding stopping a couple feet from him. He remained still.

“May I join you, kiddo?” The soft voice was full of concern and caution. Virgil nodded-- at least, attempted too. All it did was slide against the ceramic, and he ended up bumping his head with a little thud on the way back down. Morality giggled, before joining Virgil in the tub. They sat in silence, Virgil not bothering to move an inch, besides his breathing. They stayed that way for quite some time, almost leading Virgil to believe that Morality was never there in the first place before he spoke up.

“I was waiting to see if you would tell me what was wrong, but I guess I have to initiate ‘Dad mode’” Virgil snorted despite himself. It had become a recent inside joke for them. Virgil noticed that Morality had sort of a fatherly vibe about him. He told him and was happily surprised that the emotional side loved it. He started to refer to himself as a dad, and Virgil as his son. Virgil would normally hiss and retaliate at such a statement, but he couldn’t refuse the side. This excitement increased when Virgil remarked while hanging out with Deceit, that it would technically make him a grandfather. Morality seemed to have a field day with that one.

“You with me kiddo?” He jolted, startled out of his thoughts. Morality laughed at seeing the tiny jump before his voice morphed into something stern yet caring.

“You are reverting back to your old defenses, aren’t you?” Virgil remained silent. He heard a sigh.

“Kiddo, that is not good. You need to care about these things. You can’t just forget about it, because that won’t make it go away.” Virgil groaned, banging his head softly on the hard surface.

“Then what will?!”

“Dealing with it.” This caused Virgil to look up at Morality, obviously skeptical.

“As you do, by enduring it all? Is that ‘dealing with it’ to you?” Morality smiled.

“Do as I say, not as I do.” Virgil scoffed

“You are supposed to be a dad. Aren’t you supposed to be a good role model or some shit?” Morality pouted.

“First off, language,” Virgil chuckled. “And second, not all dads are perfect.”

“But they all seem to be.”

“Only because they learned from their own mistakes kiddo. Then they pass that wisdom down, so you don’t have to make that same mistake.”

“Then why do you continue to act as you do?”

“So **you** can see what I am doing wrong and go a different path. Not to mention, I’m sort of stuck here for now. Besides, I don't think of it as a mistake. I probably would have never gotten as close to you as I am now if not for the circumstances.” Virgil sat there, staring at Morality as he let it sink in (Heh). He nodded after some time, still needing a bit more time to think about it, but having come to a pretty sound conclusion at the moment. Morality’s smile brightened.

“Well, how about we go to my room to hang out with Dee for a while? We can have a movie marathon!” Virgil sighed in relief internally. Morality somehow knew when he needed a distraction, and when it was getting unhealthy. Virgil nodded, sinking out and back on Morality’s bed. Deceit didn’t flinch, lying (HEH) right next to him on the bed. They both sat there in content silence for about five seconds before Morality climbed next to Deceit. 

“Uh… Dee… you mind if I talk to you for a minute?” Virgil closed his eyes, although he couldn’t help but notice the concerned look Morality gave him. He was Anxiety after all.

“Oh- uh, sure... “ They both sank out, leaving Virgil alone. He sighed, irritated at the mother hens that were Deceit and Morality. Inside, he knew he was grateful. It wasn’t like Roman or Logan were willing to do this stuff for him.  _ Maybe the “Dark Side’s” aren’t as bad as Logan and Roman claim… _ He was interrupted as the two sides sank back in. He opened his eyes to see Deceit giving him the same fatherly look of concerned yet stern (Heheh).  _ That must be where Morality got it… _ He thought blandly as Deceit spoke up.

“Ok, we are talking about this right now. What happened?” Virgil sighed, sitting up, scooching till his back was against the wall.

“I went to talk to Logan and Roman, since they still haven’t come to their fucking senses (“Language”), and are basically using Morality as a tool for their own agendas. I got a bit mad when they acted as if all was fine in the world, and…” Virgil bit his lip, unsure if he should continue. The two sides who silently urging him convinced him.

“My double voice... activated.” The two had differing expressions at the news. Deceit was confused, while Morality was something unexpected. He had an expression that conveyed slight fear, and… understanding? Virgil hadn’t quite expected that. He shook it off, continuing.

“It only happened to me once before, but it’s just something that happens when I’m anxious… or mad… apparently?” Deceit was still confused but seemed to accept it. They both snapped towards Morality as he let out a shudder. His face was pale, his smile wavering. It was obviously fake, being used to seem happy, but ultimately looked weak compared to his usual smiles. Not to mention the terror in his voice.

“W-Would you mind explaining the first time it happened… please?” Deceit and Virgil looked at each other, both unsure of what to do. It was clear from Deceit’s frown that this had never happened before, but the narrow of his eyes betrayed that he had suspicions of what caused it. Despite it all, Virgil decided to play along, as long as he could erase the terror in Morality's eyes, as Logan and Roman's did.

He sat in thought for a few minutes, taking deep breaths, before sifting through memories clouded from years of not caring to remember them. One of them stuck out to him, clear as day. His first day.

* * *

 

 

Anxiety sat up frantically in his bed. He gasped and heaved, not knowing what was happening… or who he was. He looked at his hands, before gripping his hair at a dull throb of a headache, his side had a piercing pain that slowly subsided. His room shook, almost knocking him off the bed. He quickly dove under the covers, breathing heavily. HIs pants were loud and shaky, the only sound in the room after the shaking had stopped. Two voices came out, he realized after some time.  _ Who am I? _ Anxiety got up from the bed, wandering the room. It was empty, black walls bare and no personal items on any of the bookshelves or desk. Anxiety walked on shaky legs, opening drawers to find them empty. He gasped at a random dizzy spell, new emotions crashing inside of him. A sadness and panic, and many other feelings he couldn’t really describe. He crashed into the wall nearest to him, hands holding him up. He noticed stiffly that there were marks on the wall, some of the paint chipping off of some of it. He took a deep breath, stumbling to the bathroom. He faced the mirror, only seeing shadows from the dim light in his ( _ his? _ ) room. He turned the light on, flinching at the artificial light attacking his eyes. After adjusting through his eyelids, his eyes fluttered open.

**_“WHAT THE F-”_ ** He didn’t finish, slipping and falling to the wall, hitting his head. He gripped his throat, rubbing it as if to relieve it. He may have just formed, but he somehow knew that this voice wasn’t normal. Whispers filled his head suddenly, not his, but somehow familiar. It talked rapidly, about himself. It told him what was going on, that he was a “side” of Thomas Sanders, a thirteen-year-old. His name was Virgil, his role anxiety. It parted, telling him that he had to figure out the rest on his own. He heard a knock on his door, panicking slightly, wishing the voice would come back. He used the counter of the sink, adjusting his hair, and quickly testing his voice. With some struggle, he was able to reduce it to one voice. He had no idea how, but he somehow did it. With this, he slowly, still wobbling, reached his door. 

He opened it to see two people that looked exactly like him, except with different clothes. One wore a tie, the other a sash. The boy in a tie cleared his throat, looking down at Anxiety's hunched figure with an expressionless face.

“Hello. I am Logic. You are…?” Anxiety debated in his head, somehow feeling as if “Virgil” wasn’t quite the right name for him just yet.

“Anxiety.”

* * *

 

 

Morality sighed, slumping in relief. Both Deceit and Virgil looked at him with questioning faces. Morality simply smiled and waved it off.

“Oh- don’t worry about it. So… the double voice scared them?” Virgil nodded, slipping his hands into his hoodie sleeves. 

“Roman pulled a sword on me…” Morality nodded solemnly. He looked up at Virgil with a sad smile.

“Welcome to the band of misfits, I guess…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I realized earlier that my plan for this book has changed a ton from when I first thought it up. I mean like whole plot change, and I'm kinda sad that it didn't come to pass. I just remembered all the feels, and not that I am dissatisfied with this story, I like how slow it is going so far. So, I was thinking, after I finish this one, I may write the original idea as an alternate universe to this one. Slightly different, but faster pace, meaning faster realizations and angst quicker. I think I may try doing two fanfics, this one and the one I mentioned a while ago, but I guess time will tell!
> 
> (I noticed when I am tired, I become sorta apathetic. Sooooo, this is me staying up late so tomorrow during my pun battle I will be less likely to laugh. I already got 3 pages of puns ready.)
> 
> If you didn't notice, I added a work about my friend and my Diamond AU, or Steven Universe Sander Sides' mix. Check it out, it's all explained there. (It is not actually a fanfic, sorry!)
> 
> Speaking of, in that I ended it with "~Mama Pats", a nickname my friends have given me (I'm a mother hen), so I think I may use it more often.


	16. Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil gets shunned. Logan and Roman want to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Another chapter. It's a bit short, but it kinda came out of the blue! (Enjoy!)
> 
> TW: Sword, threatening (Be careful kiddos! and no, I am not gonna elaborate... you'll just have to read. >;D)

Virgil indeed had become one of the misfits. Not that he minded since he already loved the two little puffballs who weren’t at all what Logan and Roman described them as in the past. Morality was afraid of spiders and unwilling to kill them despite his fear. The ‘dark sides’ were actually much brighter than the light sides (DEFINITELY brighter than Roman’s ego). Even so, there were still some downsides to it. Specifically, being shunned by Logan and Roman. He’d lost his advantage, having been a part of the group, and actually being able to  **say** something in their discussions. 

Virgil sank into his hoodie, after the fifth time of being ignored. Both Morality and Thomas were looking at him worriedly, as Logan and Roman turned to focus on Thomas solely. They continued to argue back and forth, the usual. Whenever Virgil even attempted to say something, he’d get a glare, maybe a rude comment thrown his way.

He didn’t mind too much. In reality, this was sort of an awakening for him. This is how Morality felt in every discussion for  _ years _ . He knew Morality told him to ‘deal with it’, and he probably didn’t mean this, but Virgil couldn’t help feeling as if he deserved it. At the very least, he felt more at home with Morality and Deceit than with Logan and Roman. This didn’t mean the scorn hurt. It hurt a whole heap of a lot. Still, he felt shockingly right at home.

“WELL FINE! I GUESS SINCE I AM NOT NEEDED, I’LL JUST GO!” Roman shrieked, sinking out with a childish pout. Logan scoffed.

“I guess since I am not needed, I shall depart also.” Logan sank out, leaving two dejected sides, and a confused host. Thomas looked between the two, both avoiding his gaze.

“Uh… what just happened?! It seemed as if they were ignoring you, Virgil.” Virgil sighed, rubbing his arm.

“Yeah… uh… I kinda… scared them, and now they have shunned me.”

“Like me.” Morality chimed in. The two looked at him.

“Yeah, sorry that didn’t help.” Virgil snorted.

“Yeah. Well, I have this… double voice? That’s the only way I can describe it…” Thomas nodded, thinking to himself.

“Double… voice? And it scared them?” Virgil snorted again.

“That’s an understatement. Roman pulled a sword on me and Logan screamed so loud it threw me into a panic attack.” Morality made a sound that sounded a lot like a ‘meep’.

“You had a panic attack and you didn’t tell me?!” He gripped onto his cardigan around his chest, wringing it in his hands, looking panicked with retroactive fear.

“You came in right after it subsided. I was fine, don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?!” He squawked, “That’s my job, kiddo!!” Virgil rolled his eyes fondly.

“So… what does this mean?” Thomas asked, looking at Virgil.

“It means that I no longer have a place in the discussions anymore. Listen,” Virgil paused, searching for words. “I know this may not sound the best course of action, but just be careful about what they say, okay? You kinda have to listen to your Logic and Creativity, but if the situation isn’t settled by the time they left, we can have our own.” Morality clapped his hands.

“Oooh~! Like our own little hang-out time!” Virgil smiled.

“Sure. Look, we will try to figure this out with those two? I don’t know what is up with their arrogance and hate,” Virgil quickly glanced at Morality, which held an unreadable expression, “but I was getting to them, I could tell. All it will take is a little push in the right direction, and maybe they will see their ways aren’t as sunshiney and great as they thought.” Thomas nodded.

“Sounds like a plan… I just want all this to end. All this hate has made me feel a bit down, I guess.”

“That… might be me?” Morality spoke up sheepishly. Thomas and Virgil looked at him, then each other.

“Well, you kind of have a fucking good reason to feel sad,” Virgil smirked.

“LANGUAGE!” Morality screamed in fake anger. Virgil gave a quick two-fingered salute, speaking quickly.

“ByeThomasgottagoSEEYA!” He quickly sank out leaving Thomas chuckling and Morality seething.

“Come back here, you!” Morality sank out after him, giving up immediately after sinking into the mindscape. 

Patton sighed happily. It had been too long since he had a friend like Virgil… actually, this was the first time he had a friend in general. He pondered this as he walked towards the kitchen, deciding he deserved a cookie. He was just about to turn on the light when a hand grabbed his collar. He yelped as he was thrust into the wall just beside the kitchen entrance. He froze at the feeling of cold steel on his throat. He looked up, shakily attempting to keep still, every movement caused him to feel the blade, never cutting but simply resting. Roman stood above him, a hand beside his head, and the other wielding his katana. Logan stood close by, glaring at Patton.

Patton swallowed, still shaking.

“What-” He was cut off by Roman’s growl, thrusting the sword just a little bit more. Patton froze immediately. Logan placed his hand on Roman’s shoulder, causing him to take the sword away from Patton’s neck, still hovering inches from him.

“We would like to warn you, Morality. Roman and I are not going to have a repeat of the past. We’ve learned from our mistakes. We wish you did too.” Patton swallowed, taking a deep breath.

“W-what would you have me do, exactly?” Logan narrowed his eyes.

“You know exactly what to do. Don’t do this again, Morality.” With this, the two left, not without pushing Morality to the ground. He whimpered, holding onto his neck where the blade was. He waited long after the footsteps retreated. He sat up slowly, rubbing it.

“Yeah right. This is no mistake.” He mumbled to himself as he looked at the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oofers. That was quite a deep chapter. Everyone can be rather vague... right?
> 
> Let's hope Virgil and Pat can change Lo and Ro's minds?
> 
> Be safe kiddos! Don't let Roman pull a sword on you! 
> 
> ~Mama Pats


	17. Undeserving Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman try to deal with their feelings. Patton isn't making it easy for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Doing better now, having the whole weekend to relax. The workload has lessened, thankfully! I was able to revive Roman with some Hamilton, so he's all good now (#Burn). Also! A big change happened to me. I dyed the tips of my hair blonde. It's not much, but since my school's dress code is a bit strict, I won't be adding actual color till maybe the summer. I like it tho, and it looks good, which gives me confidence. It kicks my self-confidence issues in the ass, so I'm happy. I actually feel better than I ever have, so here we are!
> 
> Thank you all for the wonderful support! This fandom has some of the nicest people. I don't think I have ever seen a mean comment ever.

To say Logan was angry was an understatement. Despite his function being Logic, most things in his life were not as logical as they used to be. It drove him absolutely crazy trying to give reasons to things he couldn’t figure out. That also added to his anger. Not being able to figure it out. He had this constant nagging that seemed to tug at his heart (as illogical as that sounds), and he couldn’t understand it at all. It was getting on his nerves, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask for help. He was Logic. He didn’t need help. Not to mention, that would be admitting defeat to Roman, which he wouldn’t do.

Despite his wishes, the nagging presence would not go away. He tried to ignore it, to distract himself, but nothing worked. He noticed it also correlated with Morality, which just increased his hate for said side. He started to doubt himself more and more, which was not acceptable. He was Logic after all. After what seemed like weeks of dealing with this, he finally snapped.

Rising to the real world, Logan made sure to check everyone’s spots, happy at the vacancy. Thomas walked out of his kitchen, with a full glass of water. He jumped seeing Logan, almost dropping his glass, but spilling some of his water. He grumbled, trying to wipe off it off his shirt.

“Woah! Logan, buddy, you can’t just… do that” He gestured at all of Logan vaguely. Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I can. I can physically rise up into the real world, Thomas. You have seen me do so many times.”

“No, Logan, I mean, like, scare me.”

“That is also untrue. I am able to scare you if I would like, although I do not see the purpose. If you’d like an example, I would be glad to-“

“No! No, no… I’m good.” Thomas placed the cup on the coffee table, standing in his usual spot.

“What did you need?” Thomas played with his fingers nervously, waiting patiently. Logan took a breath.

“Well, I have a problem, which I was hoping you could… help with.” Thomas froze.

“You… want help… from me?” Thomas repeated carefully. Logan immediately got onto the defensive.

“I wouldn’t think too much about this. This is most likely a one-time thing.” Thomas smiled.

“Logan, it is alright to ask for help. That is why I ask help from all of you when I am feeling conflicted.”

“Yes, but it is mostly me who helps you, Thomas.” Thomas frowned.

“Untrue Logan. You work together. Remember, Logan, I can’t be all logical. I need my creativity, anxiety, and morality.” Logan scowled.

“And that leads us to our topic of interest, actually. I have this… feeling… that I need help discerning and eliminating so I can continue my function.”

“Logan, it’s ok to have feelings…”

“Logic doesn’t have feelings.”

“Then how does Morality have logic?” Logan froze as if processing it like a computer. He shook his head, looking a bit more uncertain than before.

“Right… anyways, it sits on my metaphorical heart. It as if it’s a… metaphorical cold hand… gripping onto my previously mentioned metaphorical heart.”

“Ok, Logan, you don’t have to say metaphorically. I understand what you mean.”

“Fine. Anyways, this… hand… squeezes my heart every time I see Morality and starting to do the same when I see Virgil. It causes me to look away and hinders my breathing. It is as if my breath is stolen away, and my body drains its warmth. It won’t leave me alone, no matter how many times I ignore it or do other activities. I just want to be rid of it.” Thomas nodded.

“I think… that I may know what it is… can I ask some questions?” Logan nodded, muttering a quick "may I".

“Go ahead.” Thomas nodded, placing a hand on his chin, staring off in the distance.

“Have you always felt that way towards Morality?”

“No. It happened recently.”

“When?” Now it was Logan’s time to think.

“…Well, I think it started after we confronted Virgil when he allowed Morality into the discussion. He told us… some things about Morality we didn’t know he did. The other most noticeable one was after the last discussion… when Roman and I pulled a sword on him.” There was that squeezing pain again.

“YOU WHAT?!”

“It was actually Roman who pulled the sword.”

“THAT DOESN’T MATTER! YOU THREATENED HIM?!”

“Yes. We warned him that we would not let him make the same mistakes. Maybe we were a bit overboard with the sword, but it served its purpose.”

“Ok, what did he ever do to you?”

“That is of no importance Thomas. What matters right now is how I get rid of this feeling.”

“Well… How about one more question…?”

“Go ahead.”

“When did you start feeling this way when around Virgil?”

“Very recently. A little after we shunned him like Morality.” Thomas nodded.

“I think I have come to a conclusion…” Logan perked up with anticipation.

“Well?”

“It seems like what you are feeling… is guilt.”

“Guilt?” Logan said out loud, testing it out. His face morphed into one of disgust and confusion. He started pacing, running his hands through his hair.

“That makes no sense, why would I feel guilty?! For Virgil, and Morality no less! This is false, it can’t be…” Logan broke from his pacing, looking at Thomas.

“Why would it be guilt?”

“Because you see how Virgil doesn’t truly deserve the treatment… same as Morality. You can’t deny he has helped me tremendously, and yourself. I don’t know what Virgil revealed to you about Morality, but he gives kindness regardless of receiving any in return. Someone like that doesn’t deserve how you’ve treated him, Lo.”

“IF YOU KNEW WHAT HE DID YOU WOULDN’T BE SO KIND TO HIM! HE DOES DESERVE THIS. YOU ARE WRONG, YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A CHILD THOMAS!”

“I am a child, at heart, Logan. What’s your excuse?” Logan froze at the reference. He growled lowly, sinking out quickly. Whatever this was, it was  **NOT** guilt.

 

* * *

 

Roman was quite confused, but not like Logan. He knew that the feeling was guilt, and he knew it was because of shunning Virgil and Morality. He was just confused about  _ why _ . This, like Logan, had never happened to him before. He never felt guilty for shunning Morality. He deserved it. Well, he  _ might _ have gone a bit too far with the sword this time, but Roman was honestly and truly scared. He didn’t want  _ it _ to happen again. He couldn’t fail Thomas again. So why was he feeling this way for shunning Virgil? That double voice still haunts him … but it was an accident, at least it seemed that way, considering his reaction to it … Nonetheless, Roman was conflicted. His mind battled itself, trying to decide if he deserved it or not. Could he hate one of his oldest friends, all because of his voice? Even to him, that seemed a bit absurd … but then again, was he justified in hating Morality? Roman shook his head.

He needed a break from his imagination. Ever since his revelation about it, he couldn’t see anything the same. It helped when the imagination seemed to brighten, things becoming more livelier and less robotic. Roman exited the mirror, sighing as the warmth seeped into him. He always felt better after coming back to his room. His stomach growled, indicating he should probably go get something to eat.

“I did miss breakfast … ” He said sheepishly to no one. He carefully exited his room, hoping beyond all hope that Virgil or Morality would be in their rooms. When it was just Morality they had to ignore, it was much simpler. After some time, he got the hint and hid in his room away from them. Virgil, though, was like Roman. He was apart of the group since he first formed, so he wouldn’t just hide in his room. He would be out in the commons like usual. With Roman’s conflicted feelings, he didn’t think he could see him, else he makes up his mind based on these feelings of guilt. They should go away with time, he reasoned.

Roman let out a breath of relief at the empty commons, then immediately tensed at a clang in the kitchen. He desperately debated on whether to go back up, but he had no time to make a choice when Morality pokes his head out of the doorway. He smiles cheerfully, albeit a little shaky.

“Oh, hi Roman! I should be done in a little bit, just hold on…” He promptly shoves his head back into the kitchen, humming all the while. Roman was bewildered. He had known that Virgil had helped the side gain some confidence, but he had never done this before. He had always run before they could reach the kitchen. He greeted Roman. One of the people who ignored and undermined him their entire lives. Roman shook his head, shoving the thoughts down as he put on a scowl, He leaned against the doorframe, attempting to look as intimidating as possible. Roman smirked smugly seeing the smaller side shake slightly. His smirk fell, seeing the side still trying to maintain the smile and fake cheer.

_ What is with this guy? _ Roman grumbled, dropping the intimidation to watch and wait. The shaking lessened but didn’t stop completely. Roman watched as Morality took out a pan of what looked like crofter’s cookies (Roman’s favorite-- not that he would ever admit it out loud, but he did sneak two or three now and then). His eyes widened, seeing his shaking hands tip the cookie pan.

“Uh oh.” Was all Morality said before the pan fell out of his hands. Without thinking, Roman dove for the pan, catching it with his hands, despite all the cookies falling off. He instantly let go of the pan with a yelp as the scorching hot pan burned into his skin. Immediately, Morality knelt down to Roman’s level, grabbing his hands gently as he examined them.

“Oh no, that’s not good. We should get those under some cold water to soothe them!” Roman heard nothing, dully thinking about how cold Morality’s hands were compared to his warm ones. He blinked when Morality pulled him up, following Morality’s lead as he turned on the water and guided his hands into the cool water. Everything was quiet after Morality left to close the oven and turn it off. Roman winced when he heard the crunch of a cookie under Morality’s heel. He stared at the water as it dripped off his hands, the light from the window, dull and blue due to the dark clouds covering the sun, the rain dripping down the window slower than the water dripping down his hands.

“Why did you try to save them, kiddo?” Roman jumped at Morality’s voice, turning to see true concern in those eyes.

“Huh?” Was all Roman said. He continued to stare as Morality huffed, looking away.

“I guess… I just didn’t want to ruin your cookies?” He responded weakly. Morality shook his head, smiling gently.

“You didn’t need to do that. I can always make more. You can’t grow back those hands of yours.” He giggled. Roman blinked again.

“Why are you so kind?” He blurted, immediately feeling like a fool, and looked away. He regretted looking back, seeing Morality’s head tilt like a puppy.

“What do you mean, kiddo?” Roman couldn’t take it anymore, his confusion about the mystery of Morality fueling his need to understand.

“I mean, how can you just be like you are! I mean, we all have shunned and insulted you for years, and yet you help me with my hands when I burned them?! You should hate me! I pulled a  **sword** on you and tried to you, and all you do is smile and hurry up so that I could have the kitchen?! HOW can you be like this!” Roman huffed, his anger and guilt increasing. He finally looked at Morality, expecting to see the anger he deserved. Except, he didn’t see it. Morality smiled bashfully, looking at Roman. He rocked on his heels as if Roman wasn’t standing over him after a rage-filled rant.

“Well, you aren’t as horrible as you claim Roman.” Roman stilled at that. Morality continued.

“You say I should hate you, and if I was anyone else, I actually might. But I am not anyone, I am little old me… and I know that everyone has some good in them, no matter what. Plus, considering that you tried to save my cookies instead of simply letting them crumble, shows me that that anger would not be justified.” Roman stood there in shock at the revelation, staring at Morality. He saw genuine care. He saw the same genuine adoration as that day. Roman shuffled, before completely fleeing, not even attempting to make up an excuse. He couldn’t handle this right now.

 

* * *

 

Patton sighed as he watched Roman retreat. He had thought that Roman would have stayed, but he guessed there was no chance of that. He honestly wanted to get to know them better, both Roman and Logan. To be normal as Virgil and himself are. Patton sighed deeply, looking at the stairs one more time. He gathered some of the chocolate cookies he made before the crofter cookies, placing two on a plate. He paused while passing the cupboards, grabbing one of his secret stashes. He always made sure to have some backup crofters, learning his lesson after forgetting to get crofters, and having to deal with Roman and Logan yelling at each other for eating the last of it. He smiled, making his way up the stairs. He places the plate next to Roman’s door, the jar next to it. He reads over the little sticky note he created in an instance.

I’m sorry for today

Make sure to take care of those hands,

We wouldn’t want you unable to carry that sword of yours!

I know they aren’t crofter cookies, but I hope chocolate chip

And a jar on the side will make up for that nasty burn

~Love Morality

He smiled at it, placing it on top of the jar, before heading back down to clean the cookies still on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting close to something... Be prepared.
> 
> Again, thank you all for the support! This isn't my best, but eh, screw it. I felt kinda bad that I didn't have anything up for so long, so decided to get this out to you guys asap.
> 
> Be prepared for more!
> 
> (“Logan, it’s ok to have feelings…”  
> “Logic doesn’t have feelings.”  
> “Then how does Morality has logic?”  
> This has to be my favorite thing I've ever written)
> 
> (-3O)


	18. Kindness brings Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Logan confront the outcasts (unwillingly). Things don't go as planned for all of them... except for Patton, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I am back with another one! I had to get this done asap, because of how IMPORTANT THIS ONE IS!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: Violence, and blood! Arguing, and emotional breakdowns! It's a doozy folks!
> 
> Eeeeeek! I am sorta proud, but also sorta not. I won't keep you, go ahead and read!

Virgil knew that the guilt was building up inside the other two. Thomas and Morality had told Virgil of their encounters with the two, how they both ran away after their talks. It was only a matter of time. Virgil only hoped they could handle everything like adults, but knowing those two and how they constantly solve everything with arguments and intimidation, he knew it wouldn’t go well. So, he kept his guard up. He was extremely wary of where everyone was at all times (as much as he could) and waited. Those two were a ticking time bomb, both locked in their own rooms with their thoughts bouncing around their heads. Despite being quite ready for it, he was not ready for what actually happened when they exploded.

Despite once dominating the commons, the two conflicted stayed in their own rooms. They used to be the majority, but thanks to only themselves, they made the outcasts even. Normally, this wouldn’t deter them. They would simply intimidate Virgil into submission. What gave the outcasts power, however, was their oppressors' feelings. Their own morals prevent them from making contact with them.

This was great for Virgil and Morality, though. They could stay in the commons without the fear of being caught with those two. It made Morality calmer, opening up even more. Despite this, the two hiding in their rooms still made both of them tense. Although Roman and Logan did not want confrontation, they weren’t the best at hiding or sneaking. They didn’t have years like Morality did to learn how to be quiet. They didn’t have the luxury to learn, as every time they see Virgil and Morality, they freeze up, unable to have time to do anything before their rising feelings throw them through a loop. They weren’t their old intimidating selves, and it was angering them. That was why it didn’t surprise Virgil when it happened.

Virgil and Morality were hanging out in the kitchen. Morality had somehow convinced Virgil to help him bake... well, not really. Usually, they baked cookies together, but not this time. No. Morality wanted to bake a cake. Virgil despised it, the idea of any gooey substance getting close to his hoodie made him squeamish. Baking a cake took too long and had too much of a risk of getting filthy. He only agreed on the account that he was afraid Morality would burn either himself or the house down. He made sure to stay on top of the fridge, watching diligently for any signs of danger. He hissed at Morality a couple times as he attempted to get Virgil down. After realizing it was futile, he shook his head fondly, muttering a “You’re like a cat…” before getting back to work. They had small banter as he worked.

“Hey, Mo? Why are you making this cake anyways.” Virgil narrowed his eyes at the uneasy smile Morality gave him.

“For fun?” It was more of a question rather than an answer, knowing full well that Virgil wouldn’t accept it. Virgil stared at him, totally unimpressed.

“You are a terrible liar, Mo.”

“You **didn’t** call?” Deceit popped his head around the doorframe, causing Virgil to hiss at the unexpected presence. Morality simply laughed, turning back to the bowl he was cleaning.

“It's nothing, Dee.” Deceit shrugged, waving goodbye. Virgil placed a hand on his chest, breathing a sigh of relief as his panic subsided. He looked over at Morality, who was making sure to look busy, scrubbing far to fast to be normal.

“Morality. You never answered my question.” Morality froze, before sighing in defeat. He turned around to face him, looking away in embarrassment.

“I… want to do something nice for them…” Virgil stared at him for a second, before huffing in adoration.

“You are such a mother who spoilers her kids despite their bad behavior.”

“I am not!”

“Are too!” They continued back and forth, Morality totally missing the timer that beeped.

"I am a dad, not a mom!"

"Mo-"

"Sure, I may spoil my kiddos, but-"

"Mo! The cake?" Morality's eyes widened as he hurried to take it out.

"Mitts!" Virgil exclaimed, right before Morality opened the oven and put his bare hands into it.

"Oh, right!" He quickly facepalmed before quickly taking the cake out. It didn't look burned, thankfully. Morality sighed with relief, placing it aside for it to cool before applying the frosting. In that time, Morality simply showed Virgil some new cat videos Thomas had watched, giggling and cooing all the while. It was a bit awkward, due to the fact that Virgil still wouldn’t get off of the fridge, but Morality made up for it by sitting on the counter. It wasn’t the greatest view, but Virgil was fine with it. The timer beeped not too long after. Again, Morality asked Virgil if he would help, but that resulted in another hiss and Virgil clutching to his hoodie like a lifeline.

“Why don’t you just take it off?” Patton had to hold in a giggle at Virgil’s horrified expression. He backed away immediately, afraid of getting scratched.

“All right! All right! I’ll do it by myself…” Patton giggled at the growl. It sounded a lot like a cat who was annoyed. Within minutes of decorating, sticking his tongue out in concentration, Patton stepped back from his masterpiece.

“Tada!” He raised his hands triumphantly, turning to beam at Virgil. Virgil smiled at Morality, seeing the pride in his eyes. The cake looked normal, but knew it was otherwise. This was a new recipe that Morality had made, writing it himself. It was a crofters cake. Everything was made with crofters (and love), even the frosting. Virgil had suspected it was for those two, due to the fact that they are the fanatics, but he was hoping beyond all hope it was for Thomas or himself (Despite that fact that Virgil doesn’t like crofters, and Thomas couldn’t eat it anyway.) Virgil sighed internally, knowing Morality would want to give it to them right away. He smiled on the outside, watching Morality's smile get wider.

“Looks great, Mo.” Virgil hopped down from the counter. They both froze at the sound of a door opening, not so quietly. Two footsteps were heard, trying their best to tiptoe their way down to the kitchen, but failing miserably. Virgil saw Morality’s eyes light up, a feeling of dread pooling in his stomach. This would most likely not go well.

 

* * *

 

 

Logan and Roman sighed, both inside of Logan's room. They were starving, and knew they would have to go out into the commons, but the risk of seeing those two set them on edge. They had decided to talk to each other about their problems, which was probably the only reason as to why they had lasted this long. They both were too headstrong to actually think through it rationally, but they enjoyed the presence of each other, trying to distract themselves with trivial things. It never worked, though.

“We should go get something to eat. We can’t last forever.” Roman looked up from his coloring book, a hand on his stomach as it growled, emphasizing his point. Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Technically, we can. We are not real people, we are figments. We could last forever without eating, due to the fact that we don’t actually need sustenance. The mindscape merely projects these on us as a way to make us more human instead of being solely our function alone which is why you can have anxiety, or think rationally, Virgil can be creative or logical, and Morality can be… whatever Morality is.”

“And you can have emotions…?” Logan froze at this. He glared at Roman.

“Falsehood.” Roman stood up, throwing his arms up in anger.

“We can’t keep doing this Logan! It’s not healthy. I think we have to forgive him.” Logan stood up, glaring at Roman as he made his way towards the door.

“I don’t have to do anything.” Roman sighed, following him out the door. They tried their best to be quiet, but they both knew that if those two were in the commons, they would be able to hear them. Only when they reached the bottom of the stairs did they regret coming down in the first place. Morality called from the kitchen for them to “hold on”. Both froze up, not quite sure what to do other than stand there. Morality brought two plates of what looked like cake, the usual white frosting taking a pinkish hue.

“I made this for you two! It’s a Crofters cake. A brand new recipe I just created. Even the frosting is crofters, it’s the-” At this point, both couldn’t hear his ramblings. Both grew with anger, the feelings bubbling up in both of them. They barely noticed how Virgil tensed up behind Morality, not even realizing his presence at all. They couldn’t understand how this figment in front of them could be so nice. They couldn’t remember half of the things that they had done to the side, but they could guess that he did. He probably remembered each and everything they did, every action, every word. They had heard his sobbing in the beginning, before they banged on the walls, yelling for him to shut up. Everything that they had did seemed so cruel now, so unjustified. How could it have been justified in the first place? All the times he made them cookies, cleaned up after their movie nights, which he couldn’t even participate in. He cleaned up after them. Even recently, having encouraged and helped both of them.

_“Don’t overwork yourself"_

_“Everyone deserves a bit of kindness”_

All these feelings of disgust and repulsion of their own actions consumed them. Both had no idea what to do, but they knew they couldn’t bear these feelings. Simultaneously, they came to a decision. If they couldn’t stand their actions being unjustified, they would just have to make them justified. They both burst out in shouts, making both Virgil and Morality jump. Logan knocked the plates out of his hands, shattering immediately, the cake crumbling, and the frosting sticking to the carpet. Both Roman and Logan shouted at Morality, screaming all that had been going through their minds, although barely comprehensible. Soon, their intimidation took over. They started getting closer to Morality, towering over him. Virgil could see the signs of aggression, and Morality’s submission as he sunk into himself, flinching at every single word. Virgil had enough. His own anger scorched inside him as he stood protectively in front of his friend. He pushed Roman back away from them, having already been too close to Morality for comfort. Without hesitation or any thought, Roman reeled back, and swung. He caught Virgil right in the face, causing him to stumble back. Morality caught him in his arms, looking at Virgil in desperate concern.

Virgil, on the other hand, was shocked. He held his nose, feeling blood drip onto his hand. He looked back up at the other two, seeing Logan holding Roman back.  Roman was limp in his arms, albeit still angry. Both Logan and Roman had tears streaming down their faces, unable to hold in their emotions anymore.

“See?! This is why you should hate us! Come on, yell at us! Hit us back! DO IT!” Roman yelled, panting. The room went silent, no one moving. Patton slowly and gently let go of Virgil, going to stand in front of the two. Virgil reached out weakly but soon retracted. They both looked down at him, anger still seething. Patton simply smiled.

“I won’t hit you.”

“...What?”

“I won’t hit you, Roman, and neither will Virgil. Two wrongs, don’t make a right. We won’t lash out and hurt you, no matter what you do to Virgil or me.” Roman and Logan sat in silence. Roman slid down against the wall, placing his hands in his hair.

“Why won’t this just stop?” He whispered. Logan remained silent, staring off into the distance with his jaw clenched. They both looked as Patton crouched in front of Roman.

“It can stop Roman. You just need to let go.”

“To what?”

“Your pride. Both of you. It clouds you from the truth. The truth of the matter is that I forgive you. There is no need for guilt.” Patton sighed.

“How can you, after all that we have done to you?” Logan whimpered, trying to hold in tears. Patton smiled, before rubbing the back of his neck.

“I… understand. I did something foolish in the past, that hurt you. You simply forgot to notice that it hurt me too.” Both looked him in the eyes, trying to discern any hint of a lie. All they found was genuine remorse.

“It was a mistake. I never meant for any of this to happen. It’s my fault you were hurt, so I spent every day since then trying to make it up to you guys.”

“How come you didn’t tell us it was you in the first place?”

“Because I didn’t want you to forgive me just because you felt obligated to. I wanted you to go through these feelings on your own. Manipulating your feelings by being nice to you, it felt like I was using you for my own gain. That is not how I want a friendship to go. It needs to be built up together. The whole reason I became friends with Virgil, was because he ended up stumbling upon me, and  _chose_  to pursue a friendship. Even after he did enough to ‘pay me back’ for any kindness I did, he stayed.” Morality pointed at Virgil, who was still holding his face, blood smeared down it. The two stayed quiet. Their arrogance battled against them, but finally, after many-- **MANY** years, their morals won over. Logan sank down next to Roman, letting out a sigh of relief.

“We have to stop this Roman. No more fighting to be the most important side. No more attempts at total control. We… need to face the facts, something that I am ashamed of not doing sooner. I was so caught up in my thinking of feelings being illogical, that trying to repress them made me illogical… I failed at my function.” Patton shook his head.

“You made a mistake.”

“One that hurt Thomas.”

“And hurt yourself, Logan. See? This is exactly what happened to me all those years ago. But I won’t turn my back on you. I can help you through these feelings. Thomas needs each and every one of us to be human. Together.” Logan and Roman nod, seemingly resigning to their fate. Morality smiled at them, helping each up and to the table.

“Now! Sit here, and I’ll get you two some cake!” Patton had pep in his step, somehow dodging the broken glass as he entered the kitchen, Virgil trailing behind him, still holding his face. Virgil was bewildered.

“Did you just…?” Patton simply smiled.

“Broke their walls of pride that they built after years of lying to themselves and aggression in about a minute? Yup!” Patton grabbed a hand towel, getting it wet before moving Virgil’s hand, still clutching his nose. He dabbed away the blood quickly, as Virgil became fidgety.

“It doesn’t look broken. Here, wash your hands.” He turned on the faucet as he rushed to get two new plates. He left Virgil to clean himself up a tiny bit, bringing the two plates of cake to the table. The two were like statues, not moving an inch from where he deposited them. He placed the plates in front of them, leaning back with his fists on his hips proudly.

“Eat up! It’s your favorite: crofters! That should cheer you up a bit. Now, I got to go clean up that mess…” Logan and Roman were hesitant at first, tasting a little bit at first, unsure if they could handle food at the moment, despite being starving. It didn’t take very long before they were both scarfing down the food. Morality smiled, having just swept up the glass shards and the cake, going to the kitchen to throw them away. He passed Virgil who was once again on the fridge, hiding in the corner with his hoodie over himself, the washcloth still pressed to his nose. He looked like a defensive cat, and Patton knew better than to bother him now. He picked up the rest of the cake, carefully taking it back to the table. He giggled to himself at seeing their eyes light up.

“Have as much as you like! I did make it for you two after all.” He left them, smiling to himself. He reached for his prized recipe book, old and a bit faded. Batter stains on the cover, and little rips and tears on the pages. He took out the loose paper, his brand new recipe. He smiled, summoning a pen. In parentheses above the name, he wrote:

 _Kindness brings Forgiveness_  

* * *

 

**_BONUS_ **

Logan and Roman stood awkwardly in front of Virgil in Morality, who were on the couch. The two fidgetted, before taking deep breaths.

“We know we just talked about this, but it would be best if we said this fully out loud.” Roman and Logan looked at each other, before turning back to the other two.

“We have made a mistake. We overreacted to your mistake, and caused you immense pain, Morality.” Roman looked down.

“We were so… self-absorbed, that we weren’t willing to look past your mistake to the truth. We attempted to attack the symptoms of Thomas’ problems, as well as our own. We were afraid to look at the root of the problems, too scared of what might come from it…”

“We shouldn’t have judged you, either, Virgil… It was clear you can’t control that… voice. We acted without thinking, and in our arrogance, you got hurt… physically.” Roman looked at his fist, a bruise forming on it. Logan picked it up, seeing Roman getting a little choked up.

“We understand you may not ever forgive us, but we are sorry… Please forgive us.” Silence invaded the room, causing cold chills to go down Roman and Logan’s spines. They couldn’t bring themselves to look up at them.

“... I told you, I forgive you. There is no need for this.” The two looked up to see Morality smiling at them.

“No more guilt, ok?” Logan and Roman nodded, before turning to Virgil. He sighed, sinking into the couch a bit at the attention. After a second of thought, he bolted upright, his spine straight and a deadly shine in his eyes. Both froze up.

“Sorry is so overused nowadays… Actions speak louder than words after all. I forgive you-- for now. Make sure to be accountable for your ways and actions, and **MAYBE**... It will stay that way.” Roman and Logan nodded. All was silent for a few seconds, before being shattered by a squeal. All jumped, looking at the source. Morality was bouncing up and down gleefully. He jumped up, running up to the two, all the while dragging Virgil along with him.

“GROUP HUG!” Everyone but Virgil was bewildered, suddenly being pulled into a tight embrace by the emotional side. Roman and Logan squirmed, not used to this sort of affection. They looked at Virgil, hoping he could break this apart. He simply shrugged as best as he could in the squished hug.

“You get used to it.” Roman and Logan huff, while Morality giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After so many chapters, IT HAPPENED! Logan and Roman's walls break! Woot Woot!!!
> 
> Of course, I write this while listening to my playlist, and "God help the outcasts" from Hunchback of Notre Dame. A bit fitting.
> 
> It's not over yet! Stay tuned!


	19. The Awkward Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Logan invite Morality to one of their Movie nights, finally. Morality is more than excited, while Virgil is (of course) Wary. What if they haven't changed a bit? They will just have to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH. MY. GOODNESS. I DID IT! I beat my procrastination and lack of inspiration for this fanfic in particular. I mean, I literally posted a one-shot earlier today that was fluff, because I only have inspiration for specific things, but I did it! I am happy!
> 
> This one is short, (sorry) but more is coming soon! More fluff, yaya!
> 
> (yeah, Ima go work on the next one before I lose it. Call me butter, cuz I am on a roll!)

Virgil fidgeted nervously on Morality’s bed. It wasn’t that he was not happy. He was quite happy, for once in his life. Truly happy, that is. The thing was, he was afraid that things would go back to how they used to be. He knew that the only way to find out was by going forward, but he couldn’t help feeling that it would go back to how it was. It had been only one day after the whole debacle, in which Logan and Roman broke down their barriers and let Morality in for the first time, probably ever. But Virgil knew them. He knew that they get defensive whenever they are challenged, and after literally  _ YEARS _ of being stuck in their own ways, he knew that those walls would start rebuilding some time.

Despite this, he was happy to go along with Morality. He knew that the only way to break those walls that may build up was to take special steps to avoid them going on the defensive. Virgil had no doubt in his mind that Morality was the perfect side to do such a thing. He could do it. Virgil could not. Which is why he would stand behind Morality, following the footprints in deep snow.

Virgil sat back, rubbing his eyes with the balls of his palms, groaning loudly. He knew his point was taken at hearing the giggles erupt from Morality. He felt a hand swat at his knee that was propped up against the bed.

“Definitely  **keep** your shoes on the bed.” Virgil sighed, sitting up. He directed his pout to Deceit, who ignored him, instead, watching as Morality raced around the room, babbling half to himself, and half at them.

“AHHH! I am so excited! Movie night with all of us at once! This is so… so… What’s the word, Dee?”

“ **Dreadful.** ” Morality pouted childishly at him.

“Deee!” He whined, swatting his hand playfully at him. He quickly forgot his childish tantrum as he went around again, fanning himself as he got worked up.

“I can’t believe it! A real movie night! I’d only ever had them with Dee… Oh, and you Virge! ...I am so happy! I know we are going to have the best-est of times! And then I can convince them to accept the dark sides, and then-” Virgil looked at him warily.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much, Mo. As you said, this is the first movie night together. They just recently got over themselves, but that doesn’t mean everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows from now on. We got to be careful, we have no idea how they are going to react to your presence.” Morality deflated slightly, causing Dee to glare warningly at Virgil.

“I know, I know… but we won’t know how they react unless we start pushing their boundaries. Now, how does this work?” Morality tilted his head like a puppy at Virgil.

“... What do you mean?”

“Well, this is my first. I’ve never been to something this big, at has always been just you an I… should I bring something? Cookies? OOH! CAN I WEAR MY ONESIE?!” He exclaimed, rushing off to the closet. It was packed full of stuff, and surprisingly, Morality knew just where everything was. He dug through the boxes, throwing clothes haphazardly behind him. Virgil dodged a pair of slippers as he looked at Deceit. He shrugged back, barely catching a cat plushie as it hurtled towards his face. 

“Aha!” Morality exclaimed, raising the onesie up in pride. Virgil snorted, looking at the light grey cat onesie that was in his hands. It was perfect for him. Morality’s eyebrow creased.

“...What?” Virgil waved it off, smirking.

“Nothing… it just fits you.” He had to hide another snort at the happy giggle Morality gave at his pun. Virgil stood up, rubbing his hands on his pants.

“Well, I think the best thing to do is be yourself, Mo. If you want to wear the cat onesie, go ahead. It is a night meant to relax, so I think it would be perfect.” Morality smiled, before rushing to his bathroom to get ready. That was the first time realized he had one. Virgil looked back quizzically at Deceit.

“Wait… he has his own bathroom?” Deceit looked at him lazily, laying with his head hanging off the bed, looking at Virgil upside down.

“After being so afraid of meeting any of you in the commons, or making anyone angry for him being in there, I made sure to… twist the mindscape a bit. I gave him his own bathroom so he didn’t have to worry about it.” Virgil nodded, rubbing his arm. Both looked up as Morality exited the bathroom, tying his cardigan sounding on his shoulders. 

“Ok! I’m ready!” Virgil stared at him.

“Did you… put your cardigan… over your shoulders like normal?!” Morality giggled, before looping his arm with Virgil.

“Yup!” he popped the ‘p’, “Let’s get going!”

 

* * *

 

It was awkward, to say the least. Not only were they the first ones down, but Morality decided to do everything himself. He cleaned everything up, made the popcorn, made treats. Virgil tried desperately to calm him, and make him relax for once, but he couldn’t quell the jitters of the emotional side. Virgil groaning into his hand, which rubbed down his face. He heard creaking footsteps, looking up just as Roman and Logan walked down the stairs. They froze at the array of snacks set before them, staring at Morality as he walked past them and to the table.

“Oh, there you guys are!” Everyone winced at his false cheeriness, his body shaking slightly from the fear of years of being oppressed. Logan and Roman looked at each other, guilt clear in their eyes.

“Is that… a onesie?” Logan questioned, pointing at the garment. Morality smiled, this one seeming more genuine. He raised his hands up, shrugging.

“You CAT me red-handed!” He giggled into the paws on his onesie. Roman let out a chuckle, Virgil snorted, but Logan remained strangely mute. He stared at Morality, said side’s smile falling at the silence. Roman scooted over to where Virgil sat, both looking at the two. Morality hesitantly reached a hand towards Logan, worry clear in his eyes.

“Logan…? Are you-” Morality was cut off at a chortle that left the logical side’s mouth.

“That is quite the unique UNICORN, Morality.” He spun, suddenly in a unicorn onesie, his tie still hanging loosely from his neck, swinging from the motion. He smirked at all of them as their jaws all on the floor.

“I think the cardigan TIES-” Logan adjusted his tie, “ it all together.” Everything was quiet as Logan walked past Morality and to the couch, each one had their eyes on him. He sat in his usual recliner, before looking at each one individually.

“Well, are we going to get started?” This broke everyone out of their stuppor. Morality squealled happily, Roman groaned as he got up from his seat, moving towards the TV to start the movie.

 

* * *

 

Everything was awkward, of course, but less awkward thanks to Logan’s puny attitude. The more they spent time with Morality, the more and more the two found him endearing. Morality and Roman sang every Disney song together, acting together in parts. Morality would talk with Logan silently about different aspects of the movie, discussing how logical some parts of it were. Morality had a way of explaining certain things, that made Logan decide maybe Disney wasn’t as illogical as he always thought. Virgil smiled at all of them, letting out a sigh of relief. He checked the Disney arguments off of his mental list, watching as Morality somehow solved their debate with one word. The two instantly settled down, the issue layed to rest all in one move. At the end of the movie night, they all made an effort to clean, despite what Morality said. He claimed he could do it by himself, but both Logan and Roman wouldn’t let it happened. They both knew the guilt that would come over them if they dared tried to leave it all to him, especially when they promised to change. Every side went to sleep that night, all feeling lighter than when they woke up that morning. Each wishing in their heads for more movie nights to come. Luckily for them, a shooting star floated across the midnight sky above their heads as they all fell asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short and crappy, barely any fluff, but I'm getting there!
> 
> See ya, (hopefully) soon! Hope you enjoyed!


	20. The Crofters on Top(ple)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton invites Roman to bake some of his favorite cookies: Crofter cookies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Fluffy prompts? I’m always down for Roman and Patton baking together. *eye emoji*" -MagicQuill42
> 
> (Thanks for the prompt, lovely! It was so much fun to write!)
> 
> Woot woot! I got this one out much quicker than that little hiatus! Yays! It was super fun to write, platonic royality is lovely. 
> 
> The recipe was from: http://www.chewoutloud.com/2014/12/16/buttery-jam-thumbprint-cookies/. My family doesn't make these types of cookies, so I had to search up a recipe. (although, I wouldn't mind making these someday)
> 
> Anyways, Enjoy this fluff (and some angst)!

Roman sighed, rolling up his sleeves. He was dressed pretty casual for today, with a red-sleeved white shirt and jeans. He normally wouldn’t be flippant with his appearance, but today was not a normal day. During one of the movie nights, Morality suggested that he teach Roman to bake. Roman reluctantly agreed, though was unnerved at the fact of being alone with Morality in a peaceful setting. He didn’t quite know how to act, not to mention the guilt still weighing on his heart. He knew he had to, though. Thomas was actually stable, for once in his life. He couldn’t jeopardize that. He startled at a blur of fabric thrust around his neck, blinking at a smiling Morality. He looked down as Morality took strings and tied them behind him. An apron. He stretched the material out, straining his eyes slightly to read the upsidedown text. It read, “Get a **CAKE** out of it!” with what looked like a chocolate frosted cake being kicked printed on it. Roman snorted as Morality finished tying the strings together, securing it to Roman. He clapped as he walked over to the hanger, putting on his own that said “ **BAKE** in business!”. 

Ever since they accepted Morality, the commons and kitchen became livelier. More stuff was splayed about, from games to extra blankets and stuffed animals. They all grew to like the additions, even though Logan thought it was unnecessary and cluttering the space. The kitchen practically grew to fit all the baking stuff Morality brought with him. It was much more accessorized; with rollers, spatulas, whisks, bowls, and more things that Roman had never even seen. This, of course, suggested that the poor side had to take all of that stuff back to his room after he was done while sneaking around to hide from any other side. Either way, Roman was glad things changed.

He was broken out of his thoughts when Patton flipped open his large tattered cookbook. He rubbed his hands together, flour flying out in all directions from past baking adventures. Roman shuffled awkwardly towards the book, peering into it from over Morality's shoulder. It was the recipe for Crofter thumbprint cookies. It was taped back into the book, the page still crinkled and creased from when it was folded. It was filled with pencil scribbles and notes that edited the recipe. It made it perfectly Morality’s. Roman smiled gently, seeing the word “Jam” crossed off and replaced by “Crofters”. Morality barely scanned the page, already having memorized it.

In all honesty, Patton had already memorized the recipe long ago. He had always feared to have to slowly scan his cookbook to figure out what he needed when he had so little time as it was to bake, so he’d spend hours memorizing recipes to cut down time. Of course, this left for some mistakes (and major accidents), but Patton learned the perfect recipes through them. He was absolutely overjoyed to have access to the kitchen, allowed to keep his prized cookbook in it along with all his tools to work with. He was even more ecstatic on the prospect of sharing his beloved hobby with another, even if that said someone has held a sword to his neck before. Patton shivered, shaking his head slightly as he bent down to get certain bowls and tools.

“Ok, we are going to need two sticks of salted butter, one-half cup of powdered sugar, but just bring the whole bag, we are going to need it later. Um… two teaspoons of vanilla extract, one-eighth of salt, two cups of flour, and, of course, crofters!” Roman blinked at Morality as he cheered happily. He still didn’t know how this side could be so cheery in the face of oppressors. Even in the face of Roman, who'd hated him their entire lives, he forgave him, while Roman continued belittling him because he thought that was right. That the emotional side was weak. Roman was wrong after all. This side is far stronger than Roman. A spike of anger and jealousy coursed through him, doubting thoughts racing through his mind. He shook his head, pushing it to the side as he focused on Morality.

“Ok… we need to preheat to 325°…” He said to himself, though loud enough for Roman to hear. He stuck his tongue out as he positioned the oven rack in the middle. He closed it gently, pressing 325°. The oven beeped in response, the fires flaring up inside, rapidly trying to achieve the correct temperature. Morality clapped his hands, closing his eyes while he thought. Roman stood awkwardly, fiddling with his fingers as he waited. _This is ridiculous. I’m a prince! I'm not supposed to be awkward! Get yourself together Roman…_ Roman blew a strand of hair out of his face, his confidence seeping into him.

“What next, padre?” Morality simply opened his eyes, beaming back at him.

“We need those two sticks of butter, softened but not melted. You know, when the butter kinda gives but is not melted into liquid.”

“Isn’t it already like that?”

“Not quite. We should put it in the microwave for just a few seconds. While you do that, I will measure the sugar…” He mumbled to himself as he walked over to the cupboard, taking out what he needed.

 

* * *

 

 

“Steady…” Morality had his hands on Roman’s guiding slowly as the mixer stuttered when hit on the sides of the bowl. Roman had already spilled some of it on himself when he first put it in, his cheeks flaring at Morality’s laughter. Almost immediately, he reassured Roman, saying it always happened to him. Roman was extremely confounded. With his other interactions with Logan or Virgil, there was always spitting retorts and sneering comments passed whenever anyone messed up. Yet this literal ball of sunshine doesn’t bat an eye at it. _I was supposed to be Thomas’ sunshine…_ Roman shook his head as Morality slowly let go of his hands.

“Ok, I have to add the vanilla and salt. Keep it steady in this motion.” He guided Roman’s hands one more time before retreating. He stayed with his hands hovering over Roman’s as he took the reigns, smiling proudly when Roman kept up the pace.

“Great job, kiddo!” He cheered, grabbing the measuring cups of vanilla and salt. _Not your kiddo._ His mind sneered. Roman shook it off once more, concentrating on his hands. Morality slowly added it in, the brown of the vanilla extract making swirls in the white batter. Morality squeals, almost dropping the measuring cup into the batter. Roman raised an eyebrow, adamantly keeping his eyes on the bowl.

“Sorry…” He says sheepishly, “I always love that part.” Roman giggled along with him. In his distraction, his hand loosened from its tense grip. The mixer went erratic, Roman fumbling to get ahold of the thing, the wide motion of the mixer causing the batter to fly all over the place. Roman finally found the button, jamming it off. As the mixer whirred to a stop, silence engulfed the room. The only sounds were soft breathing and the dripping of the batter off of both sides and counter. Roman felt like a failure. He didn’t even care that batter was all over him. Giggles crescendoed from nowhere, Roman turning to face the other side. He had dissolved into a fit of giggles, clutching his stomach that made a squish when the batter pressed against his apron. Roman felt even worse, his face paling as he looked down. Morality seemed to notice, taking deep breaths to calm down.

“It’s ok, Roman! That was great!” He beamed at Roman as if it wasn’t a total disaster. Still, no biting comments were thrown at Roman.

“Great? I ruined it!” He mumbled, still chastising himself. He looked up in surprise at a gooey hand landed on his shoulder. Despite the silliness of the situation, it seemed quite calming to have that soft smile directed at him.

“Don’t worry about it kiddo! I’ve had my fair share of mess ups. I like to think of it as… if fate knew those were bad cookies, maybe even poisoned by some warlock of some kind, and now we can make some new, better cookies! Plus, you learned! That little mixer there is not to be trifled with, let me tell ya.” Roman blinked owlishly, before snorting. His eyes radiated with joy he'd never felt before. He sighed, snapping his finger. The batter disappeared and the ingredients reappearing back in their measuring cups and bowls.

“I won’t let that dragon witch ruin these splendid treats this time! We shall try again, and make these cookies the grandest in the land, to the likes that thieves can only dream of tasting, as salivating in there slumber!” Roman smiled gallantly at Morality as his confidence returned tenfold. Creative inspiration gave strength to his muscles as he got to work. He wondered, faintly, if it was Thomas or Morality’s doing.

 

* * *

 

 

Roman was quite right in his statement when the cookies came out. They were a perfect golden color, the jam shining on top. Patton had to slap his hand from being burned when he attempted to sneak one after he took them out of the oven. He claimed that they weren’t done, while Roman grumbled, crossing his arms and joking about what they should do next. For once in both of their lives, they talked. Like normal people. Some might even say like friends, but Patton was sure that was far too quick. This was the first time they had hung out alone, after all. They laughed together, Patton making some dad jokes, Roman telling stories about past adventures. Roman was in the middle of telling a dangerous story of his conquering of the dragon-witch (even though Patton was more worried for the witch than anything) when the timer beeped. Patton jumped up and down, clapping before taking the parchment paper from the cooling rack. He carefully slid them on a plate, offering the little measuring cup full of powdered sugar to Roman. He bowed regally, causing Roman to snort in response.

“Would you like the honors of, **topping** it off?” Roman chuckled, matching Patton’s posture. 

“Sure thing, your highness.” Patton startled at that, totally frozen as Roman took the measuring cup, carefully sprinkling the sugar over the cookies. Roman broke Patton out of his head with a soft chuckle, Roman looking down at him with a soft smirk. Patton floundered, gathering the bowls filled with their tools and placed them in the sink, wavering.

“Might as well clean these up, wouldn’t want to leave a mess… After all, it is my **confection**!” Patton shrunk into himself, feeling embarrassed. He was by no way any royal blood, he was just little ol’Morality! Patton bristled as Roman’s arms brushed against him, his hands diving into the water as he helped clean up their mess. They stayed in silence, Patton feeling increasingly shy as he scrubbed at the batter stuck in the bowl, when Roman spoke up, worry clear in his voice.

“Did I go too far with the whole ‘your highness’ thing?” Patton shook his head vehemently, nearly flinging soap from how his hands went back and forth.

“No, no, no! It’s just…” Patton sighed, trying to come up with the words to make it as less awkward as possible.

“I just never thought of myself that way. A royal? Heh… never occurred to me… that I could be anything close...” The silence continued, Patton calming at the rhythmic motions of cleaning and the water lapping at his skin.

“You will always be a prince in my kingdom…” Patton stopped abruptly, looking up at Roman with wide eyes. Roman simply smiled back.

“After all, we are fam…” Patton blinked tears out of his eyes as he held his hands over his mouth. He squealed, Flinging his arms around Roman’s shoulder. He stumbled, but slowly brought his arms around the other, both ignoring the water soaking into their clothes.

“Thank you…” Patton choked out, sniffling as he buried his head in Roman’s neck, barely holding a sob of happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for more fluff!


	21. Opening up, Closing the Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton opens up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! After some thought, I have decided to end it here! I did originally have more to this, but I seem to have lost the motivation to continue it. It wasn't really much, just some angst that I never really thought through completely. Since it was already at a nice point, I am ending it off here. I've had a lot of other ideas and fanfics I am currently writing, so I thought I should just get this fic off my shoulders. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!

Morality sighed, wringing his hands together as he entered the living room. He had gathered the light sides in the living room, each one of them nervous at what this was about. Morality sighed, running a hand through his hair. He rubbed his arm as he looked at them.

"I... I feel like this was a long time coming... Just... thank you. For everything. I really appreciate the chance you've given me, and... I feel like I should give you something in return." Each of them looked alarmed, quick to reassure him.

"No, no, no!"

"You don't have to-"

"It isn't necessary-" Morality shook his head, fiddling with his fingers.

"No. It's ok. I want to." He sighed, closing his eyes. He struggled in his mind for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"Mmm... MynameisPatton!" He scrunched up, anxiety wracking at his body as he waited for the reaction.

"Patton. Hm. That is satisfactory. Much like one of the modes of persuasion, Pathos-"

"Yeah, that's enough of that, nerd." Roman interrupting, holding Patton's hands.

"I think it is a wonderful name." Patton smiled in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's so short. And... a mess. I hope you enjoyed this fic! (Maybe) more to come!


	22. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it all started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Thanks to a lovely comment, I realized I never really explained how Patton was outed in the first place. This was because I originally had more plot, but I decided to end it where it was. So, I decided to FINALLY, TRULY end it. So, this is why Patton was an outcast in the first place.
> 
> (Stay tuned, the endnotes has some sort of updates on what I am working on)

Patton sighed as he fell onto his fluffy bed, looking up at the ceiling. He glanced over at his door, which would normally be firmly shut, but now open just a crack. The sounds of his family filtered in from downstairs, bringing tears to his eyes. He looked at the ceiling, wondering dully how he was outcasted in the first place. It had always been a numb area to remember, something he could never truly grasp, and one Roman and Logan never talked about. Suddenly, memories flashed through his head, as if a gate opened and it all rushed back to him.

 

* * *

 

 

Patton was not alone when he appeared in the mindscape. Much like Remus and Roman, he was one of a pair. His pair was known as Depression. You see, Patton was not always Morality. He was originally meant to be good emotion, and right. Depression was bad emotions, and wrong. They helped balance, Thomas. Patton would reward Thomas when he did something good with good emotions. Depression would scold Thomas and make him feel bad for doing wrong.

Despite their opposing jobs, they were close. Depression wasn't as bad as he seemed, yet he still lived in the dark sides. He resented the title but was often visited by his brother, which lessened the pain of being outcasted. Throughout Patton's time spent with the dark sides, he grew close. He saw them past the dark edgy title Thomas decided to give them, especially his brother. He knew his brother was only wanting to do good by Thomas. 

Logan and Roman, on the other hand, didn't see it that way. They were threatened on how many dark sides there were compared to the three light sides, ignoring the fact that they had more responsibilities and control than the dark sides did. They grew resentful, their pride getting in the way. They soon looked down on the happy twin, watching disdainfully as he skipped his way to the dark sides.

Everything blew up when Patton attempted to bring his brother to the light sides for a sleepover. Roman and Logan yelled at the two, mostly at Patton for defending the 'evil' side. It ended with Depression punching Roman. Patton was barely able to pry his brother off of him, ushering him through the door to the dark sides. Patton was stopped from entering himself as Logan grabbed his arm, throwing him in his room. Patton spent the night crying.

From then on, Logan and Roman kept Patton from the door and made sure to lock it so no one could get in. They chastised Patton when he dared try to stand up for the dark sides, accusing him of being evil as well. Everything spiraled out of control then.

Depression, completely enraged at being separated from his twin, started to scheme. He snuck into Logan's room, stealing his book about the mindscape which appeared with him when he appeared. He snuck into Roman's imagination, which was simply a door at that time. Using the book, he was able to use the imagination to mold a being of his choice, a dragon-witch. It could never be completely destroyed and would wreak havoc on Roman's imagination forever. He was planning to burn Logan's book when they confronted him. Roman fought the dragon-witch, while Logan and Patton tried to talk to him. Roman was close to death thanks to the powerful foe, that Patton was able to drive away thanks to his brother's love for him. The final thing Depression said was laced with another voice, deep and guttural. It shot fear into both Roman and Logan's hearts forever. Patton, saddened by his brother, had to make a choice. It was either his brother or the light sides. An unknown strength filled him as he grabbed his brother, and sunk into the subconscious.

Patton didn't know how, but he didn't feel himself. Knowledge about the mindscape filled his brain as he stared down at his brother...

 

* * *

 

 

"Brother..." Patton said, looking down at his brother. A faint white glow emanated from him, the only source of light in the black goop of the subconscious. Depression seemed to lose the strength to stand up as he struggled to push his body up from the ground, the black substance sticking to him.

" ** _Patton... Why... What is happening to me?"_** He looked down at his hand, shaking as he felt his energy sapped away from him. Patton kneeled down to him, running his hand softly through his hair. He whispered softly to him, sadness in his eyes, yet no tears came.

"I am sorry... you can't continue. Your mind has become corrupted with hate. You no longer think of Thomas' well-being... only yourself." He struggled harder, pushing himself on his hands and knees, glaring up at Patton.

" ** _AND YOU! I DID THIS FOR YOU, PATTY!_** " Patton shook his head, cupping Depression's cheek.

"No you didn't." Depression immediately froze, before quickly shaking his head.

"What is happening to me?!" Patton's eyes never left his, looking at him with a foreign look.

"You are dying. You have failed your purpose by actively trying to destroy other facets of Thomas' personality. For this, you cannot live." Depression continued to glare at him.

"But I am your brother." Patton smiled.

"I am not Patton. Right now, I am the mindscape." Depression looked up at his eyes, before looking away, chuckling lowly.

"I knew it. He would never do this to me..." He stared silently at the ground, his body weakening.

"You can't get rid of me. Thomas still needs his sense of wrong and all those bad emotions. He wouldn't be himself without me." 'Patton' hummed.

"He can still have your function without you." Depression looked up at him.

"How so?"

"You are dying. But your function remains. Patton will gain your other half, as well as those bad emotions, but not all of them. There was a reason for splitting you two up. Both job of morality and emotions is a tough one, so... another side will come from you." Depression looked skeptical.

"Who?"

"Anxiety" Depression gave a cold laugh.

"If he feels all that I do, he will choose the same route as me." He smirked up at him. 'Patton' kept an emotionless face.

"No. Because Patton will give a small part of himself as well. Compassion, Selflessness." Depression scoffed.

"You can't take those away from him. He wouldn't be himself without it!" 'Patton' shook his head.

"He will still have those emotions, much like Logic has emotions. He won't be completely in control of them. They will be apart of his  _character_ , not his function."

"And Anxiety?"

"He will control it, although he may not realize it at first. He may find out sooner or later that he can care. He may spend most of his life not caring, or being selfless. His function will catch him though. He can't deny his function." Depression let his head hang, tears slipping from his cheeks and into the black substance.

"So... this is the end?" He was met by silence, "Just... make sure 'Anxiety' uses that compassion for Patton. He deserves it the most..." 'Patton' shook his head.

"I cannot control his actions. He has to figure it out for himself." Depression sighs.

"At least let him know that I love him... that I never meant for this to happen..." 'Patton' rubbed his head.

"In due time, he will know." Depression's form flickered as the draining took its toll. 'Patton's face got softer as they made eye contact.

"I'm sorry, Brennan..."

 

* * *

 

 

And with that, Anxiety was created. He woke up in the light sides and figured out his role. He never knew where he came from, or his deeper function until late in his life. He held the voice of another but used it not for bad. He sat to the sidelines as Patton was outcasted, not realizing that he needed to help. He eventually realized, and stood up for him, as Patton did with his brother long ago, without fear of becoming an outcast just like how Patton was for accepting someone in need.

And thus, Patton gained a family thanks to his 'son'.

Patton sniffled in his bed, smiling softly.

 

\---

Brennan- Sorrow, or sadness

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I am working right now on a little one-shot right now. I don't wanna give any spoilers, but it is a human au with Patton and Virgil being the main focus. ;D
> 
> Also, I love the new episode, but I still have some major mixed feelings on Remus. It occurred to me when I started writing this last chapter, that I planned for a twin type scenario for Patton, so I guess that worked out well in my favor xD. (I actually really like the Patton/Depression lore I just made, lol)
> 
> In addition to that, I have a longer fic in the works. I've been iffy on whether I should post it, as I decided to go a different route. I have a genderbent, and I was thinking of doing a straight romantic relationship to shake up my writing. I was iffy because I don't know how people will feel about it. I am completely willing to change them to be gay, but I just decided to try something different. If you have a comment on it, please tell me!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic I have actually posted on anywhere, I usually keep my creative vomit to myself (That is not a pleasant image). Let me know what you think! Don't mind grammatical errors :P
> 
> Have a great day/evening/night, and may the demon of procrastination leave your Roman alone.


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